Mass fish deaths in Danang

Authorities in Danang City are investigating a mass fish death in Ngu Hanh Son District where fish farmers have lost nearly 60 tonnes of fish in just a couple of days.

Authorities in Danang City are investigating a mass fish death in Ngu Hanh Son District where fish farmers have lost nearly 60 tonnes of fish in just a couple of days.

The cause of the mass fish deaths is unknown

Farmers were panicked on July 17 after discovering that their farmed tilapia and discus fish had died en mass. Nguyen Van Nuoi, a farmer in Khue My Ward, said they had never seen anything like it.

"We're in harvesting season but now the fish are dying. We have no idea how to earn money to repay the loans," he said.

The tilapia is sold for VND40,000 (USD1.76) per kg and the discus fish price is VND150,000 per kg. The farmers have lost hundreds of millions of VND.

According to the report from Ngu Hanh Son District authorities, 31 households in Khue My Ward are raising 228 fish cages and fish in 65 cages of 11 households have died so far. The cause of death of 60 tonnes of fish is unknown at this time.

The Department of Fisheries, Department of Livestock Production, the Agriculture and Forestry Promotion Centre and the Environmental Engineering Centre were asked to take water samples for testing, find the cause and report the results.

"Leaders of Ngu Hanh Son District, Danang City and other departments have arrived at the scenes to direct the investigation and encourage the farmers after receiving the news. The district authorities will help remove the dead fish. The farmers should relocate their fish cages to another location or harvest the fish early," Ngu Hanh Son District wrote in their report.