World
Tonnes of dead fish wash up on shore of Lebanese lake
Tonnes of dead fish washed up on shore of Lake Qaroun on the Litani river, engulfing the area in a foul smell, officials said on Friday.
It was not immediately clear what caused the mass deaths and rotting of the carp species, dpa reported.
Maher Ousta, an environmentalist at the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon, ruled out poisoning or oxygen deficiency as causes of the mass deaths.
“We suspect it might be a viral or bacterial disease that has hit only the carp fish as the four other species in the lake appear not to be affected,” Ousta told dpa. More tests were needed to determine the exact cause, he added.
He said fishing in the lake was banned in 2018 due to the presence of heavy metals in the water.
