News Education Environment Traffic Crime

2 dead dolphins wash ashore in central Vietnam

By Le Hoang March 12, 2017 | 11:36 pm PT

Local authorities said the dolphins' carcasses showed signs of injuries from mine explosions.

Rotten carcasses of two large dolphins, which may have fallen victim to illegal fishing by explosives, have been found Sunday on the shore off the central province of Thanh Hoa.

The authorities said the two mammals, weighing each about 30-40 kilograms (70-90 pounds), were earlier spotted by some local fishermen near the shore in Tinh Gia District, some 200 kilometres (124 miles) south of Hanoi.

Nguyen Tien Dung, People's Committee chairman of Tinh Gia, said the carcasses showed signs of injuries caused by mine explosions. The explosive may have been used by local fishemen despite a government ban, he said.

"Local people will bury the two dolphins at a dune to avoid negative impact on the environment," he added.

Residents in central Vietnam have become more vigilant in the past year after waste water from the Vietnamese unit of Taiwanese conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group killed tons of fish along a 200-kilometer (124 miles) stretch of the central coastline.

In December last year, a rotten carcass of a 100-kilogram dolphin was found off the coast of Ha Tinh Province. Locals gave the creature a formal burial.

Vietnamese people living along the coast traditionally revere whales and dolphins and consider them guardians of their fishermen.

> Rescuers struggle to save beached whales in Indonesia

> Dead dolphin washes up on central Vietnam coast