We eat manure and bathe in manure slurry

 

It stinks, but we do stink ourselves, so we do not feel anything.

"The Greens have appealed to the Lithuanian Ministries of Agriculture and the Environment for manure poured into water on fisheries farms. Environmentalists have been informed that manure is being poured in large quantities into organic bodies of water as organic fertilizer. 

 It turned out that this is allowed by the laws in force in the country. The Lithuanian Green Party has called on the responsible authorities to urgently patch regulatory gaps, as such practices may have a negative impact on the condition of water bodies or even on people consuming fish raised in such bodies. 

The letter to the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment calls for a careful assessment of the impact of such practices on the environment and the consumer, an examination of good foreign practice in regulating fisheries and the introduction of advanced environmental and ethical standards for such activities. The Greens point out that this situation is due to a lack of clarity or too little regulation of manure use. 

In the agricultural sector, the use of organic fertilizers is regulated - mandatory norms are provided for fertilization (distances to water bodies, maximum amounts of fertilizers, etc.). However, the above restrictions do not apply when manure is used for fish farming and is poured directly into water bodies. “Water bodies used for fisheries are treated as industrial. The regulation applied to them is not comparable to the regulation applied to normal water bodies. If industrial water bodies are not equipped with a recirculation system, which in Lithuania can boast only 18 percent of all fisheries, it can be argued that in one way or another, pollution from industrial waters enters conventional water bodies. Consequently, it also has a negative impact on natural water bodies, ”says Ieva Budraitė, Chairwoman of the Lithuanian Green Party. 

This year's data from the Environmental Protection Agency show that out of 49 discharges from fisheries farms in Lithuania, 24 may have had a significant negative impact on water bodies. 10 lakes and 7 rivers were identified as belonging to the risk group. In addition, the reliability of farm effluent and water contamination data is often questioned. “It is noticed that the farms do not inform the Department of Environmental Protection about the planned water discharges in time or carry them out to the employees who have to take water tests before the arrival. Very often, farms exceed their permitted emission levels and do not comply with them when they receive mandatory requirements. They should receive timely and appropriate sanctions for such negligent activities, ”says Inga Laurušonė, Chairwoman of the Party's Rural Affairs Committee. 

 She is convinced that the discharge of polluted with organics water is particularly dangerous for lakes, as the flow settles, accumulates and in later seasons (spring, summer) leads to an excess of nutrients, which causes the lakes to become green and emit unpleasant odors. This process is also detrimental to rivers, as their beds are covered with a thick layer of sludge, invertebrates, etc. are buried. 

In addition, pathogenic microorganisms enter the Lithuanian lakes and rivers from fishing ponds, the reproduction of which is promoted not only by sick fish, but also by the use of manure slurry. "The Ministry of Agriculture provides the fisheries sector with free operating insurance to compensate for losses caused by natural phenomena. For example, in 2019 alone 4.5 million was paid out for the effects of the drought. In addition, in 2014-2020 81,6 million from the European Union Structural Funds for various payments, while in 2020 the value of the sector's production amounted to 12 million. In other words, this sector is significantly subsidized, so in exchange, institutions should raise environmental requirements that respond to its impact,” - adds I. Budraitė."