More fish found dead at aquatic farms

Local authorities said more than two tons of dead fish were found at aquatic farms and in the waters off Hai Tien village.

“The rising tide brought in seawater to our farms. We found a huge number of dead fish around noon on Tuesday,” said Nguyen Tan, a 61-year-old fish farmer.

“Each cage had about 100kg of fish. We have lost 25 cages worth hundreds of millions dong,” Tan said.

Local authorities seize and destroy dead aquatic products washed ashore or raised on fish farms. Photo by A.X.

Tan is one of many hit by the mass fish deaths that have struck along at least 200km of four central provinces.

“I have never seen so many dead fish in all my life. Many fish farmers have gone broke,” said villager Doan Thi Uu, adding that a large number of fish washed up ashore on Wednesday afternoon.

“In the morning when the tide was going out, my husband and I went to check our fish cages and realized that the fish were swimming weakly, and some were floating upside down on the surface. They were all dead by the afternoon,” said fish farmer Vo Thi Hong Nguyet.

In response to the ongoing situation, local authorities have destroyed most of the dead fish.

There are several methods used to block salt water from reaching the inland, including using upstream releases of fresh water from the Huong River to repel sea water, said a statement from the People’s Committee of Thua Thien – Hue province.

The latest reports show that an estimated 55 tons of fish have died on fish farms, worth VND11 billion ($500,000).