47 tons of fish found dead at aquatic farms in central Vietnam

By Le Hoang   September 9, 2016 | 06:00 pm PT
47 tons of fish found dead at aquatic farms in central Vietnam
The dead fish is sold in a local market. Photo by VnExpress/Le Hoang
The fish raised for export purpose died as seawater turned red.

About 47 tons of fish were found dead at aquatic farms on September 8 in a bay near Ngoc Island, Nghi Son Commune, Tinh Gia District, Thanh Hoa northern central province.

The dead fish, worth about VND8 billion ($354,000), belong to 21 households in Nghi Son, according to Nghiem Xuan Dung, vice chairman of the commune. There are total 60 fish farm households in the bay.

“We have raised fish in the bay for tens of years. Fish also died this time in previous years but this year we've seen the worst damage,” said Tran Van Thac, a 60- year- old fish farmer. About 5 tons of fish, each weighing between 3.5-6 kg were killed.

Thac said the seawater in the bay turned red with abnormal scum on the surface before the fish died.

On Friday, representatives from Thanh Hoa’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Police and authorities of Tinh Gia District came to take samples in the bay to investigate the cause behind the fish deaths.

Initial conclusion from local authorities showed that the fish died because of lack of oxygen.

Earlier this year, Taiwanese Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Plant grabbed headlines for causing one of the biggest environmental disasters in Vietnamese history, killing tons of fish across four coastal provinces. The company’s test-run led to the discharge of toxic substances into the sea, including phenol, cyanide and iron hydroxide.

Formosa has officially apologized to the Vietnamese people and paid $500 million in compensation to make up for the damage. The firm also promised to compensate local people for economic losses, help them find new jobs and subsidize clean-up activities.

Related news:

Compensation from Taiwanese fish killer to reach Vietnamese fishermen next month

Taiwanese fish killer completes $500 million compensation package

 
 
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