US EditionWatter Lettuce Overruns Lake Suchitlan, Halts Tourism and Fishing
Water lettuce covers Lake Suchitlan's surface due to chemical pollution, halting artisanal fishing and tourism; cleanup has cleared 6.3 hectares, officials said.
- Amid an environmental emergency, water lettuce has covered Lake Suchitlan, paralyzing tourism and artisanal fishing, Cortes reports from El Salvador.
- Pollution-Fueled growth has accelerated across the lake, with Cidia Cortes explains that the algae feed on chemical pollution carried by tributaries.
- Felicito Monroy, local boatman, hasn't fished for ten days as water lettuce covers about 6.3 hectares of the reservoir, according to the Lempa River Hydroelectric Executive Commission.
- With the plant choking waterways, shore restaurants are empty as boat operators like Julia Alvarez say `today it's completely covered.`
- Despite annual recurrences, the plant has returned every year and now covers most of Lake Suchitlan's surface, threatening biodiversity, said Johnny Anzora.
35 Articles
35 Articles
FOX 28 Spokane
The Straits Times‘Water lettuce’ chokes tourism, fishing at El Salvador lake
The waters of El Salvador's Lake Suchitlan are normally busy with fishermen and tourists -- but this year, you'd be forgiven for thinking it isn't a lake at all. The wetland, known for its biodiversity, has been overrun by a floating plant that feeds on chemical pollution, almost completely covering its surface and making it
El Salvador’s largest water mirror became a green tapestry. More than one thousand 270 tons of aquatic lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) cover large areas of Lake Suchitlán, suffocating artisanal fishing, driving away tourism and putting in check one of the most important wetlands in Central America. The reservoir, of 13 500 hectares and nourished by the Lempa River, built in 1976 to supply the Cerrón Grande hydroelectric power plant. In 2005 it was d…
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