Pollution has caused the deaths of 72,000 fish in the south central coastal province of Phu Yen over the past month.

Fish raised in 800 cages by farmers in An Ninh Dong commune in Tuy An district have died, accounting for nearly 90 per cent of the total fish raised in the commune, causing great losses for their business.

Some 72,000 fishes raised by 100 local households have died, with the resulting loss of VNĐ2 billion (US$90,000), according to officials.

Nguyen Sanh, a local farmer, raised 8,000 fish, including red snappers and groupers this year. However, only one-tenth of the fish have survived, he said.  

Local authorities took samples of the dead fish for testing after the deaths were reported. Test results showed that the fish died of Vibrio bacteria contamination, resulting from water pollution, said Vice Chairman of the commune’s People’s Committee Pham Ngoc Tuan.

Local authorities required agencies to promptly act to deal with the pollution by collecting waste from rivers and helping local farmers move their cages to non-polluted waters, he said.

The provincial Department of Husbandry and Animal Health said the fish deaths were also caused by a lack of knowledge by farmers, who raise fish in very crowded cages and breed fish that do not have clear origins.

Earlier in June, mass fish deaths were also reported in Xuan Phuong commune, as a result of water pollution and prolonged hot weather. 

VNS