Given the presence last week of an unknown substance in the waters of the port of Luanda and the fishing port, a multi-sector team was formed to take samples, of which the preliminary results showed a high concentration of algae, the Ministry told reporters.

This natural phenomenon changes the color of the water and affects its quality, explained Environment Minister Ana Paula de Carvalho, who added that new samples were sent to an international reference laboratory for a definitive result on the presence or not of toxic substances.

De Carvalho called on the population to avoid eating shellfish and fish due to possible contamination and underscored that the country has a contingency plan that includes, treating waste to prevent it from being thrown into the sea.

Climate change and waste dumped into the sea could be among the main causes of this phenomenon, given the detection of excess phosphorus and nitrate in the samples analyzed.

jrr/iff/mem/kmg