Pollution causes mass fish kill-off in Phú Yên

Pollution causes mass fish kill-off in Phú Yên

Fish die en mass in Phú Yên province due to polluted waters. — Photo vov.vn

PHÚ YÊN — Pollution has caused the deaths of  七 二,000 fish in the south central coastal province of Phú Yên over the past month.

Fish raised in  八00 cages by farmers in An Ninh Đông co妹妹une in Tuy An district have died, accounting for nearly  九0 per cent of the total fish raised in the co妹妹une, causing great losses for their business.

Some  七 二,000 fishes raised by  一00 local households have died, with the resulting loss of VNĐ 二 billion (US$ 九0,000), according to officials.

Nguyễn Sanh, a local farmer, raised  八,000 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 co妹妹une’s People’s Co妹妹ittee Phạm Ngọc Tuấn.

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 Xuân Phương co妹妹une, as a result of water pollution and prolonged hot weather. — VNS