Poland blames toxic algae for Oder river fish kill

WARSAW: Polish authorities on Thursday said toxic algae was to blame for mass fish deaths in the Oder river, ruling out industrial pollution as the cause.

The conclusions presented at a press conference by scientists and government officials come from a preliminary report to be released Friday, weeks after the environmental disaster unfolded.

The authors of the report said nearly 250 tonnes of dead fish were recovered from the Oder river that runs through Poland and Germany. Various factors "led us to conclude that the fish deaths were probably caused by the toxic effects of an algal bloom", said Agnieszka Kolada from the Polish Institute of Environmental Protection.

The micro-algae at issue -- known as Prymnesium parvum, or golden alga -- are prevalent in estuaries and normally grow in brackish water, mainly near the sea, and "had until now never been detected in Poland", she told reporters.