There is hardly a day that the news does not publish information about the death of river fish, and this is not the case only with one river, but such accidents happen on most Serbian rivers. Such events occur due to water pollution and the lack of wastewater treatment plants.
“The discharge of untreated waste water in the majority of cases results in a reduction of the oxygen content in the water, which can be disastrous for the fish stock, especially if such a situation lasts for a long period of time,” said Dragana Keravica from the Public Water Company “Vode Vojvodina” for Agromedia.
The death of the fish world and the ecosystems that depend on them occurs due to the pollution of water courses. It is mostly industrial waste. Heavy metals such as mercury and lead can even settle in the bodies of fish and cause changes in reproductive cycles, damage vital organs, affect the birth of offspring with no chance of survival.
Agricultural pollution rich in nitrogen and phosphorus leads to excessive growth of algae, which reduces oxygen levels in the water. This causes a mass death of fish due to suffocation.
Scientists like Pietro Volta and Mustafa Korkmaz emphasize the importance of combining ecological and social solutions to reduce the negative impact of human activities and climate change on freshwater fish (Save TheWater).
The Republic of Serbia, together with its partners from the CRBC company, is solving the problem through the implementation of the “Clean Serbia” project, which foresees not only the construction of sewage networks in order to prevent the overflow of septic tanks and the discharge of waste water into rivers, but also the construction of a waste water treatment plant.
To save the fish world – Clean Serbia!