Post date: Mar 15, 2013 10:32:31 PM
City workers pull more than 65 tons of dead fish from a lagoon which will host Olympic events in Rio de Janeiro after thousands of fish died from an apparent drop in oxygen levels in the water.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (MARCH 13, 2013) (TV BANDEIRANTES) - Thousands of fish went belly-up in a Rio de Janeiro lagoon this week after stormy weather and other factors caused oxygen levels to drop in the water.
The dead fish began floating to the top of the water on Tuesday (March 12) and, by Friday (March 15), city workers had pulled more than 65,000 metric tons (71 tons) of dead fish from the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon in south Rio.The city assigned 100 additional workers to clean the lagoon, raising the number of workers from 60 to 160 as they struggled to keep up and remove the dead fish.
The city's environmental office blamed the deaths on a number of factors which led oxygen levels in the water to dramatically drop.
An abundance of organic material washed into the lagoon after heavy rains, the spawning of a specific species of fish, and excessive heat have all contributed to the drop of available oxygen in the water.
This year's deaths marks the second worse recorded in the lagoon. In 2009, the city removed more than 100 metric tons (110 tons) of dead fish from the scenic body of water.
Biologist Mario Moscatelli said more must be done to preserve marine life and birds that depend on the cleanliness of the lagoon.
"We're in the 21st century with an 18th century problem, three years ahead of the Olympics. So what we're seeing, the lagoon littered with dead fish, could be happening right during the Olympic Games," Moscatelli said.
The lagoon, near the Ipanema neighbourhood, will serve as a venue for rowing and canoeing events when Rio hosts the Summer Olympic Games in 2016.
"The pollution always upsets people, but sometimes your hands are tied, you don't know what to do. It is really sad, without a doubt," stand up paddle boarderDaniela Gatti said.
Workers had planned to take advantage of an afternoon high tide to allow more sea water to pass through a channel connecting it to the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to oxygenate the water as they try to stem the die-off.