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Over 100 Tons of Dead Fish Collect at Greek Port After Climate-Related Mass Die-off

Workers collect dead fish from a river near the port city of Volos, central Greece, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, following a mass die-off linked to extreme climate fluctuations. (AP Photo/Vaggelis Kousioras)
Workers collect dead fish from a river near the port city of Volos, central Greece, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, following a mass die-off linked to extreme climate fluctuations. (AP Photo/Vaggelis Kousioras)
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Over 100 Tons of Dead Fish Collect at Greek Port After Climate-Related Mass Die-off

Workers collect dead fish from a river near the port city of Volos, central Greece, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, following a mass die-off linked to extreme climate fluctuations. (AP Photo/Vaggelis Kousioras)
Workers collect dead fish from a river near the port city of Volos, central Greece, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, following a mass die-off linked to extreme climate fluctuations. (AP Photo/Vaggelis Kousioras)

More than 100 tons of dead fish had been collected in and around the port of Volos, in central Greece, following a mass die-off linked to extreme climate fluctuations, authorities said Thursday.

The dead freshwater fish filled the bay, 320 kilometers (200 miles) north of Athens, and nearby rivers after water levels were swollen by floods last year, followed by months of severe drought.

The die-off has hit local businesses along the seafront with commercial activity reduced by 80% in the past three days, according to Volos’s Chamber of Commerce, The AP reported.

Fishing trawlers have been chartered by the regional authorities, along with earthmovers, to scoop the dead fish out of 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 all the way from Lake Karla and 20 kilometers eastward,” Anna Maria Papadimitriou, the deputy regional governor of the central Thessaly area, told state-run television.

“Right now, there is a huge effort underway to clean up the millions of dead fish that have washed along the shorelines and riverbanks... an effort that involves multiple contractors,” she said.

Water levels rose abruptly last fall during a deadly storm that caused extensive flooding in central Greece, but have since receded due to low rainfall in subsequent 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 commercial activity dropped by an estimated 80% over the last three days.

“Businesses along the seafront, particularly in the catering industry, are now suspending operations,” the chamber said in a statement. “A strong stench along the seafront is repulsive to both residents and visitors... delivering a severe blow to tourism in Volos.” ___ Gatopoulos reported from Athens, Greece.

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Australian Sauna Helps Save Frogs from Flesh-Eating Fungus 

This picture taken on August 13, 2024 shows a green and golden frog, an endangered specie, hiding between bricks inside a sauna at the research center of Macquarie University in Sydney. (AFP)
This picture taken on August 13, 2024 shows a green and golden frog, an endangered specie, hiding between bricks inside a sauna at the research center of Macquarie University in Sydney. (AFP)
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Australian Sauna Helps Save Frogs from Flesh-Eating Fungus 

This picture taken on August 13, 2024 shows a green and golden frog, an endangered specie, hiding between bricks inside a sauna at the research center of Macquarie University in Sydney. (AFP)
This picture taken on August 13, 2024 shows a green and golden frog, an endangered specie, hiding between bricks inside a sauna at the research center of Macquarie University in Sydney. (AFP)

Hundreds of endangered Australian Green and Golden Bell frogs huddle inside a sauna, shielded from Sydney's winter chill.

The sauna -- a small greenhouse containing black-painted bricks warmed by the sun -- may be pleasant, but it also protects the frogs from a deadly chytrid fungus that would otherwise drive them to extinction.

Macquarie University biologist Anthony Waddle holds one frog -- no bigger than a credit card -- in his hand as its green and gold colors become more vibrant in the heat.

"Chytrid is the worst pathogen ever", he told AFP.

It is a water-borne disease that burrows into the frogs' skin, attacking their bodies and eventually killing them.

Waddle said that globally, the disease has caused the decline of 500 amphibian species and driven 90 to extinction -- six in Australia.

"Nothing has ever caused this much devastation," he told AFP. "In Australia, we have frogs that only live in glass boxes now. This is a huge, ongoing problem."

But Waddle's dollhouse-sized saunas could change that.

In their warm interiors, the deadly chytrid fungus cannot grow on the frogs, allowing them to fight off the infection and survive.

-'No one solution' -

Frogs play a vital role in the environment and are known as bioindicators, which are used to assess the health of ecosystems.

Without the amphibians, entire ecosystems can collapse.

Globally, 41 percent of frog species are threatened with extinction, making them one of the most vulnerable invertebrate groups, a recent study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature found.

Some of the biggest drivers include loss of habitat, climate change and the chytrid disease.

These drivers are difficult to tackle, but in the absence of a cure, Waddle hopes his frog saunas can help limit the losses.

"This might be the first evidence that we could cheaply and feasibly reduce that nasty yearly die-off of frogs," Waddle said.

"For Green and Golden Bell frogs, that could mean the difference between a population going or persisting."

He said the saunas show that creative solutions ranging from the complex -- such as identifying genes that could make individuals resistant to chytrid -- to more simple are needed if frog populations are to survive.

"Not one solution is going to work for everything. Frogs are so different," Waddle added.

But the beauty of Waddle's saunas is that they cost AUD$70 ($US50) to assemble, and he has helped dozens of citizen scientists build their own backyard versions.

This has not only provided valuable data about endangered frog species but also saved some from the deadly fungus.

Jodi Rowley, an amphibian biologist from the Australian Museum, said the saunas showed how creative solutions could have real-world benefits.

"It's easy to feel helpless in the face of biodiversity declines, but this study gives us a tangible way we may be able to help frogs battling a devastating fungal disease," she told AFP.