More than 100 tonnes of dead fish have been collected in and around the port of Volos in central Greece following a mass die-off linked to extreme weather fluctuations, authorities said on Thursday.
Dead freshwater fish flooded the bay, 320 kilometres (200 miles) north of Athens, and nearby rivers after water levels swelled from floods last year, followed by months of severe drought.
The deaths have affected local businesses along the sea, with commercial activity reduced by 80% over the past three days, according to the Volos Chamber of Commerce.
Fishing trawlers were chartered by regional authorities, along with excavators, to collect dead fish from the sea and load them onto trucks bound for an incinerator.
The fish came from Lake Karla in central Greece, a body of water drained in the early 1960s and restored in 2018 to combat the effects of drought.
“There are millions of dead fish along the entire length of Lake Karla and 20 kilometres to the east,” Anna Maria Papadimitriou, deputy regional governor of the central region of Thessaly, told public television.
“Right now, there is a huge effort underway to clean up the millions of dead fish that have washed up along the coasts and river banks, an effort that involves many contractors,” she said.
Water levels rose sharply last fall during a deadly storm that caused widespread flooding in central Greece, but have since receded due to low rainfall in the following months and successive heat waves this summer.
The mayor of Volos lashed out at the regional authority, accusing it of acting too slowly, while the city’s chamber of commerce said it was taking legal action to seek damages after business activity fell by around 80% in the past three days.
“Businesses located along the waterfront, especially in the catering sector, are now suspending their activities,” the chamber said in a statement. “A strong smell along the waterfront is repulsive to residents and visitors, which is a severe blow to tourism in Volos.”