Vistula Lagoon Haff" = "Fresh Lagoon". Digging a canal to connect the lagoon with the Baltic Sea is in consideration as a major EU-supported project. The canal, would re-activate the Elbląg river port. It would also free its dependence on Russia, which time and again revokes the right of passage for Polish ships through the Strait of Baltiysk as a form of pressure on Polish authorities. In October 2016 details of the project were confirmed by PiS leader, Jarosław Kaczyński. The long, 80 metres wide and 5 metres deep canal shall be completed by 2020 at an estimated cost of PLN 880
Curonian Lagoon eventually assimilated by the Germans, except along the Curonian Spit where some still live. The Kuršininkai were considered Latvians until after World War I, when Latvia gained independence from the Russian Empire, a consideration based on linguistic arguments. This was the rationale for Latvian claims over the Curonian Spit, Memel, and other territories of East Prussia which would be later dropped. The Lagoon, formed about 7,000 years BCE, is a freshwater lagoon. Water depths average 3.8 meters. It is highly biodiverse, although troubled by water pollution. The presence of algal blooms was confirmed in the 2000s. Curonian Lagoon The Curonian