PESHAWAR: A technical committee formed by the fisheries directorate to investigate the incidents of a mysterious disease affecting fish in the Swat River earlier this year has revealed water pollution was the cause of the death of fish in large numbers.

The incidents of dead fish turning up on the banks of the Swat River were first reported in March and April and later in May and June.

The dead fish were found along a long stretch of the Swat River between Fiza Ghat and Chakdara areas.

Fiza Ghat is located around four kilometers upstream of Swat’s capital, Mingora, while Chakdara is located some 40 kilometers downstream on the bank of the river.

The outbreak has badly hit the major species of fish found in the river and identified as Swati fish or ‘Shizothorax’.

A statement issued here said the technical committee of the fisheries directorate after thoroughly probing the outbreak has concluded that it spread due to water pollution caused by direct discharge of municipal waste, mixing of industrial effluents and use of pesticides in agricultural lands.

“Polluted water is a safe haven for a verity of parasites for which fish is a primary target,” it said.

The committee said this disease spread in Shizothorax from a bacteria known as ‘Flavobocterium Columnaris’ and the disease caused by this bacteria is called ‘Columnaris.’

“Columnaris infected fish become a secondary target for other diseases like ‘Saprolagneasis,’ ‘infectious pancreatic necrosis’, ‘viral hemorrhagic septicemia’ and ‘braccheomycosis,” it said.

The committee asked all government departments to play due role to minimise water pollution and launch public awareness campaign about it.

However, an official familiar with the issue told Dawn that the situation was more alarming than what it currently seemed.

“If the government fails to take serious action on the matter on urgent basis, the entire species of the fish will be eliminated from the Swat River in some years,” he said.

The official said the outbreak of the disease followed heavy rains, which increased the turbidity of water.

“Water turbidity, rising temperature and flow of huge amount of sewage due to rains led to the outbreak of disease,” he said.

The official said the same factor also caused decrease in immunity among fish and thus, rendering them more vulnerable to infections.

He said the dead fish examined were found to have hemorrhaging blood vessel and muscles, which the committee declared to be caused by the acidity or poisoning, while bacteria and water poising caused hemorrhagic septicemia damaging fish skin.

The official said turbidity, particles suspended or dissolved in water made it appear cloudy and it decreased the ratio of oxygen in the fluid, while due to the effect of the rising temperature on suspended sewage led to the increasing level of carbonic acid in the water, which made the water acidic.

He said around 500 hotels across Swat were directly dumping their sewage in the river, and that the fisheries directorate was completely helpless in this regard.

“Our job is the conservation and control of illegal fishing and it was the Environmental Protection Agency’s job to control pollution,” he said, adding that under sections 11, 12, 13 of the KP Environmental Protection Act 2014, the agency was responsible to check pollution, discharges and emissions and punish those responsible for them.

The official said letters were written to the local administration and EPA after the outbreak of the disease.

He said the district administration issued notice to the tehsil municipal administration; the EPA issued a notice, and a regional monitoring team visited the site, but to no avail.

EPA director general Dr. Mohammad Bashir Khan didn’t respond despite repeated contacts by Dawn on his cellphone number.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2016