Fish die en masse along coast in central Vietnam

In the past few days, many provinces in the central region of Vietnam have reported an abnormal phenomenon – large amounts of fish dying along the coast. The authorities have recommended that locals not eat the dead fish.

VietNamNet Bridge – In the past few days, many provinces in the central region of Vietnam have reported an abnormal phenomenon – large amounts of fish dying along the coast. The authorities have recommended that locals not eat the dead fish.

A few days ago, residents in coastal areas in the central provinces of Thua Thien - Hue and Quang Binh reported an unusual number of dying or dead fish near the shore.

Residents living near Lang Co Beach in Thua Thien – Hue Province each day caught around 10 kilograms of batoids, which were close to death.

Local people said they had never seen such a volume of fish die in this way.

Some locals picked the dead fish to eat but then seeing the large volume of dead fish, they were scared and stopped eating dead fish.

Along the 20km coast from the town of Vinh Thai to Cua Tung in Vinh Linh District of Quang Tri Province, fishermen caught from 1-5 tons of dead fish.

Meanwhile, a report released by Quang Binh Province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) said toxic substances in water were the cause of mass fish deaths in the locality in the past week.

Local authorities asked relevant ministries to determine the cause of the pollution and what substances killed the fish, according to Tran Dinh Du, vice-director of DARD.

Fish farmers were advised not to use raise fish in their ponds and lakes until the deaths stopped, he said.

The deaths, which were noticed a week ago, have alarmed locals, with concerns growing when an eight-year-old girl in Quang Trach District’s Quang Phu Commune yesterday presented symptoms of food poisoning, including vomiting, headache and diarrhea, after eating dead fish found on the beach.

Earlier this month, several fish in floating cages near the Vung Ang industrial zones in the central province of Ha Tinh died because of polluted water.

The first location where fish died was Vung Ang in Ha Tinh province. The phenomenon gradually spread to Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces.

In Ha Tinh, the abnormal phenomenon began on April 6 along the coast at at fish cages in the river near the Vung Ang Industrial Park. The cause was determined to be toxins in the water.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang said perhaps under the impact of the Arctic - Equator ocean currents, the polluted water in Ha Tinh was pushed along the southern coast, causing the phenomenon.

The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha yesterday asked relevant units to determine the reason for mass fish deaths in central coastal provinces, especially Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces.

Speaking at an urgent meeting with relevant agencies, Hoang Duong Tung, Deputy Head of Environment General Department, said the department sent a working group to these localities to take water samples.

“We’re co-ordinating with local authorities to identify the causes. When specific reasons haven’t been confirmed and determined, we hope local residents will stay calm and avoid panic,” Tung said.

Vo Tuan Nhan, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, said there could be many reasons for the incidents.

Hoang Duong Tung from the Environment General Department, said the fish deaths might be caused by diseases or polluted water.

Images: Dead fish float along the central coast:

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