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Impact on Biodiversity
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5.3. Impact on Biodiversity
The Pripiat River passes through the Mozyr Hills near the City of Mozyr. In the vicinity of Mozyr, the shore of the river has a high steep bank with lands of high elevation undercut by the river. The width of the floodplain on this side of the river is limited to a few tens of meters.
The National Landscape Reserve, Mozyrskiye Yary, is located in the vicinity of the refinery. Effluents from the refinery as well as storm water from the Town of Mozyr do not have an adverse impact on the reserve. Within a 15 km area upstream of Mozyr, the floodplain of the Pripiat River is wide (up to 2 and more kilometres) with numerous former river-beds, meadows overgrown with shrubs. Within 15 km downstream wastewater outfall from the treatment facilities of the Mozyr Petroleum Plant, the floodplains are one to two km wide and often water-logged. Vegetative cover of regularly flooded areas is representative of wet meadows, shrub lands and wetlands. Higher elevations in the floodplain comprise sand banks that are flooded sporadically (only in the years of extremely high water). In such areas, vegetative cover is representative of meadows and willow bush.
The control and protection of fish resources is carried out by the Fisheries Inspection Department of Mozy Rayon, which serves the whole Pripiat River and its tributaries in the territory of Gomel Oblast. They record the fishing methods utitlized as well as the characteristics of the fish catches (structure of species, age and size groups) using the same procedures as the Fisheries Inspection Department of the Gomel Oblast.
Ichthyological fauna of the Pripiat River in the Rayon of the City of Mozyr is represented by 34 fish species. The main local food fish species are as follows: bream, pike, pike-pearch, chub, cat-fish, sazan, roach, perch, tench, ide. Approximately 30 years ago fish catches in the area of Mozyr City contained Russian sturgeon, sterlet and Dnipro barbel, although these species have since vanished.
Commercial fishing is carried out by eight brigades of fishermen, who lease a 200 km section of the Pripiat River including the area downstream and upstream of the Hot Spot. In comparison with 1990 data, fish catches have been reduced by 25-30% in the present day. This is indicative of the general deterioration of the fish stocks. The share of non-professional catch of fish comprises approximately 40% of commercial fish catch. This is much less than in the Gomel area, do to the smaller population in the Town of Mozyr.
Fish fry surveys are not carried out by regulators due to insufficient staff in Fisheries Inspection Department. Fishing enterprises carry out fish fry surveys themselves. Results of fish fry surveys, both upstream and downstream of Mozyr, were published in 1997 as follows:
Number of young fish upstream Mozyr – 1147 pieces/hectare;
Number of young fish upstream Mozyr – 603 pieces/hectare;
Biomass of young fish upstream Mozyr – 7.4 kg/hectare;
Biomass of young fish downstream Mozyr – 6.5 kg/hectare.
Consequently, this data indicates that the wastewater effluents of the Town of Mozyr, including the Mozyrsky Petroleum Refinery taken as a whole, has had an adverse impact. This is expressed in the reduction of number and average weight of young fish. It would be logical to assume that this may be a result of inadequate treatment of wastewater. The data does not allow the separation of impacts of the refinery verses impacts from the town.
There are spawning areas both upstream and downstream the Hot Spot, however these spawning areas may or may not be used depending on water levels during spawning season. The primary spawning areas are wide sections of the floodplains of the Pripiat River and its tributaries where water levels are low. This often includes former river-beds. At Mozyr, the river passes through hills, therefore, spawning areas are not in the immediate vicinity of the town but tend to be located in flat sections of the floodplains located upstream and downstream of Mozyr.
There are five over-wintering pools in the Pripiat River within 15 km (upstream and downstream) of Mozyr and the wastewater outfall from the Mozyr Petroleum Refinery.
No recorded mass fish kills caused by wastewater effluents from treatment facilities of Mozyr Petroleum Plant have occurred.
