More than five tons of dead fish are collected from a lagoon in Rio de Janeiro

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Cleaning crews from the city of Rio de Janeiro removed more than five tons of dead fish from the Marapendi Canal, in Barra da Tijuca, in two days. In all, from Friday (13) until the end of the morning of this Saturday (14), 5.4 tons were collected, according to Comlurb (Municipal Urban Cleaning Company).

The Inea (State Institute for the Environment) informed that, on Friday, when thousands of animals appeared dead, water samples were taken for analysis. The agency also said that the deadline for laboratory results is five days.

Inea is responsible for the environmental management of Lagoa de Marapendi and other lagoons in Barra da Tijuca and Jacarepaguá. Comlurb does the removal only when the residues reach the beach sands.

The work, which will continue over the next few days, has been carried out with ten street sweepers. The company also had to use nets and a compactor truck to transport the components and waste, accumulated on the side of the canal since Friday.

Biologist Mário Moscatelli, responsible for various environmental surveys of the city’s lagoons and bays, told the report that there is an estimated volume of 20 tons of dead fish in the channel. “The volume is much greater than that collected by Comlurb because a lot of fish accumulated in the mangroves where the urban cleaning company does not have access”, he said.

For the specialist, this mortality may be linked to the heavy rains of recent days and the high temperature: “The lagoon is at its limit, because of pollution and sanitation problems in the region, and any additional alteration can generate this type of situation” .

According to Moscatelli, fish mortality is related to the decrease in oxygen in the water, which, in turn, is linked to the decomposition of organic matter (sewage).

“This is just a small part of the historical consequence of 40 years of neglect in sanitation policies and land management in these lakes. The great expectation is for the next five years with interventions programmed in the region’s lakes and in the expansion and recovery of the sanitation system “, said.

In a note, Iguá, responsible for sanitation issues and environmental liabilities of the lagoon system in the region, said that it sympathizes with the situation and that it has already made investments in excess of R$ 90 million in the first 9 months of 2022.

“The concession contract also establishes investments of R$250 million in actions that will contribute to the revitalization of the Lagoon Complex of Barra da Tijuca and Jacarepaguá. drainage network and another R$ 305 million to serve irregular urbanized areas.

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