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Date Published: 04/10/2021
ARCHIVED - Thousands of dead fish washed up on Alicante coast
Fishermen and residents have warned of an increase in fish mortality at the mouth of the Segura river and on the coast of Guardamar and Elche in Alicante province
The Hydrographic Confederation del Segura (CHS) is investigating a possible toxic spillage or reduction in oxygen in the water after thousands of dead fish were discovered floating near the mouth of the Segura river and washed up on the coast of Guardamar and Elche last week.
Fishermen have warned of a rise in fish mortality, in particular mullet, a species found both in the sea and in the brackish waters of the mouth of the Segura river. On Thursday September 30, they alerted CHS, which has since collected water samples and launched an investigation. The event is spooking some locals due to its striking similarity to the tonnes of dead fish that have been washing up on the shores of the Mar Menor in Murcia for weeks.
Although the cause of the strange and concerning event has still to be confirmed, the CHS does not believe the cause of the mass deaths will be found in the new riverbed, which has recently been raised.
“It could have been caused by discharges from the irrigation channels that flow into the left bank of the old riverbed, although it is still too early to draw conclusions,” according to CHS.
However, sources claim these episodes, which occur periodically in the riverbed and the channels of the river’s traditional irrigation network, are usually caused by a lack of oxygen in the water, which may be due to industrial discharges or extreme lack of flow.
Staff from the municipal cleaning company, Gesnet, have since cleared hundreds of stranded fish from Babilonia, Tossals and Pinet beach in Elche.
Further upstream, in Orihuela and Rojales, the river has had “an acceptable minimum flow in recent weeks”, without foam and with the usual presence of a striking population of barbel and carp, “which rules out the possibility that the alleged spill originated in a section other than the end of the river”.
Many residents of Guardamar have also expressed their concern about the occurance on social media. A user of the Facebook group ‘Tú no eres de Guardamar si no...’ uploaded photographs, captioned: “It makes you want to cry. I don't know what’s going on but the whole rivermouth is full of dead fish and a lot of others are dying”.
Image 1: Archive
Image 2: Tú no eres de Guardamar si no... Facebook
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