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Poisoned river was a haven for rare bird and fish species
By Charles Clover, Environment Editor
Europe awakes to Danube cyanide threat
The Tisza, Hungary's second largest river, was until two weeks ago one of Eastern Europe's cleanest, known fo its populations of rare fish, insects and birds.
It contained 17 of Hungary's 29 protected fish species, including huchen, a salmon-like fish, and the Danube salmon. It is reputed also to harbour one of the last species of sturgeon to run the Danube and its tributaries. The river also had a number of insects found in few other rivers, including Europe's largest species of mayfly.
Yesterday the cyanide pollution flowed along the Danube in Serbia, still killing fish. More than 80 tons of dead fish have been removed from the river Tisa in Hungary alone. The first white-tailed sea eagle was found dead and all fish-eating birds, including herons and black and white storks, were regarded by conservationists as in extreme danger.
Phil Weller, the head of the Danube programme of the World Wide Fund for Nature, said yesterday that there was little hope for the Danube salmon or the sturgeon unless it was above the point where the polluted water entered the Tisa. He said that the cyanide had killed 85 to 90 per cent of of all species in the upper reaches of the river.
His Hungarian counterpart, Gyorgy Gado, said: "The problem is that most of the vegetation and insects are not active. Some of the fish are under ice. It will not be until May or June that we are able to tell what the damage has been."
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