The owners of fishing rights in Laxá and Kráká rivers in North East Iceland have written a letter to the minister of the environment, asking for immediate government action to protect the ecosystem of Mývatn lake and Laxá river, according to the local newspaper Morgnublaðið. They argue the lake has been under enormous stress in recent decade, and that the unique plant and animal life of the lake are facing collapse if the authorities don’t react immediately:
“The Marimo, which is only found in one other location in the world, has disappeared from the bottom of the lake and the lake floor is best described as a barren desert.”
Growing tourism brings with it a bacteria bloom
The cause is a huge bacteria bloom in the lake, most likely caused by organic pollution. The bacteria make the water cloudy, thus blocking sunlight, which doesn’t reach the lake floor, killing off the growth of algae and plant life which forms the basis for the ecosystem of the lake.
The exact reason for the bacteria bloom is not known, but many suspect that the culprit is sewage. “What has changed in this area? Not much, except that there are far more people now. That’s the only thing we can identify, a dramatic increase in the number of people.”
Read more: The magnificen Lake Mývatn attracts a great number of tourists in winter
The local population has not grown much, nor has the use of fertilizers by nearby farmers. The main change is in the number of travellers visiting the area. Growing tourism and new hotels mean that far more sewage is being pumped into the lake. Ólafur Jónsson, with the Icelandic Environment Agency told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV that the local authorities have been looking into building a sewage treatment plan to serve the village in Reykjahlíð and the hotels by the lake.
The owners of fishing rights in Laxá and Kráká rivers in North East Iceland have written a letter to the minister of the environment, asking for immediate government action to protect the ecosystem of Mývatn lake and Laxá river, according to the local newspaper Morgnublaðið. They argue the lake has been under enormous stress in recent decade, and that the unique plant and animal life of the lake are facing collapse if the authorities don’t react immediately:
“The Marimo, which is only found in one other location in the world, has disappeared from the bottom of the lake and the lake floor is best described as a barren desert.”
Growing tourism brings with it a bacteria bloom
The cause is a huge bacteria bloom in the lake, most likely caused by organic pollution. The bacteria make the water cloudy, thus blocking sunlight, which doesn’t reach the lake floor, killing off the growth of algae and plant life which forms the basis for the ecosystem of the lake.
The exact reason for the bacteria bloom is not known, but many suspect that the culprit is sewage. “What has changed in this area? Not much, except that there are far more people now. That’s the only thing we can identify, a dramatic increase in the number of people.”
Read more: The magnificen Lake Mývatn attracts a great number of tourists in winter
The local population has not grown much, nor has the use of fertilizers by nearby farmers. The main change is in the number of travellers visiting the area. Growing tourism and new hotels mean that far more sewage is being pumped into the lake. Ólafur Jónsson, with the Icelandic Environment Agency told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV that the local authorities have been looking into building a sewage treatment plan to serve the village in Reykjahlíð and the hotels by the lake.
