Tens of thousands of fish are dying in the Orbetello Lagoon

While the tourist season is in full swing, it is now impossible to swim on the coast of Orbetello due to the presence of thousands of dead fish on the surface of the water.I am already over one hundred quintals of carcasses collected, while the dense, brown water flows out of the lagoon and into the Tyrrhenian Sea, making the beaches inhospitable, where there are such high levels of Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci that they have pushed the authorities to prevent bathing.The mayor of the Tuscan town he called for a state of calamity and aid from the government.According to experts, two factors caused the disaster:fertilizers and the extremely warm temperature of the waters.

From the first light of dawn on Saturday 27 July, operators have been busy monitoring, controlling and collecting fish carcasses in Tuscan waters, also with the aid of small boats.Orbetello is a lagoon with poor water circulation:for this reason, the fertilizers used in the fields that flow into the sea end up stagnating and, thanks to the sea temperature, favor the proliferation of bacteria that they lower the level of oxygen present, leading fish to die from anoxia.This, although much more problematic than the previous ones, is in fact the third die-off to occur in the area within 10 years, a sign that it could be a "chronic issue", as highlighted by Fedagripesca Toscana.The association underlined how «the overheating of the lagoon waters, the anoxia caused by the valonia algae and the chemical values ​​out of control» would be «wiping out all the fish, both those to be sold immediately and those just born, destined to regenerate the fauna fish in the lagoon".This scenario is jeopardizing not only the fishing sector, but also the same tourist season, with tourists fleeing from Orbetello due to the presence in the sea and the smells of fish carcasses, which reach up to kilometers away from the coast.The major problems were detected in Ansedonia, on the beaches of Feniglia and Tagliata Etrusca.The case is taking on alarming proportions and, for this reason, after being solicited by the mayor of Orbetello Andrea Casamenti, Eugenio Giani, president of the Tuscany Region, also spoke directly, stating to take «seriously into consideration» the «formal declaration of a state of regional disaster for the Orbetello lagoon, at least for the contingent health protection intervention in the collection and disposal of the lost fish stock".

The mayor of Orbetello explained that it would be essential to declare a regional state of emergency, so that the Region can immediately decide on funds in order to support the Municipality from an economic point of view for all the expenses it has to face in the complex water cleaning operations.The mayor of the Tuscan municipality pointed out that the Ansedonia cleaning plant - which retains the putrescent material to prevent it from being spilled into the sea - is proceeding with the immediate disposal of the carcasses.Here the situation would currently be "under control", while they remain great difficulties in cleaning "in the area between Ansedonia and Cameretta".Flai Cgil has pointed pointing the finger at the responsibilities of «every institutional level», in particular of «successive governments and parliaments over the last 10 years, during which it was not possible to establish a lagoon body equipped with adequate resources, which was capable of take charge of the management of the basin".In the meantime, the testimonies of fishermen directly involved in the attempts to stem the emergency are alarming, speaking of «toxic fumes which have been poisoning the air for days" in Orbetello and "several episodes of irritation to the respiratory tract by many citizens".

[by Stefano Baudino]