Mozambique: A lagoon poisoned and thousands of dead fish in Niassa

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Mozambique: A lagoon poisoned and thousands of dead fish in Niassa

12:02 CAT | 11 Sep 2024

Image: O País

Unknown individuals poured poison in a lagoon in Niassa province and thousands of fish died.

Other animals that drink from the same water are also at a serious risk, as intended by the supposed poachers who allegedly poured venom in the lagoon.

A white layer may be seen above the still waters. It is formed by thousands of fish that died from poisoning, in a conservation area known as Coutada Oficial Marangira, located in the interior of Niassa province, in northern Mozambique. This conservation area bordering the Niassa Special Reserve has been targeted by poachers who use all kinds of means at their disposal to kill animals, small, medium or large.

This time, the poachers’ actions went much further, resorting to the dangerous tactic of poisoning the water to achieve their goals.

One of the partners in the company that operates the targeted game reserve is the Portuguese-Mozambican Carlos Queiroz, who spoke exclusively to O País, from Portugal.

“On the 5th [September], we detected some fires and strange movements, and we immediately sent our surveillance teams, who, unfortunately, in the early hours of the 6th, confirmed the poisoning of a huge lagoon, which borders a very important river in the game reserve. Unfortunately, when we arrived, what we saw in front of us was devastating – there were hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of dead, poisoned fish. The concessionaire immediately launched a surveillance and control operation to ensure that the fish were not picked up and [to avoid that ] consequently reached the populations, the communities [to be consumed]”, said Carlos Queiroz.

On Tuesday morning, a team from the Niassa Provincial Land and Environment Service went to the site and this Wednesday they will be able to speak to our reporters about the findings made and measures taken to reduce the risk of poisoning of people and other animals that make up the wildlife in this area.

Source: O País