CÀ MAU — Polluted water may be a reason for the mass fish deaths in Đầm Dơi District in the southernmost province of Cà Mau, the province’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment said on Wednesday.

Head of the department Trịnh Văn Lên said tested samples taken from Gành Hào and Bảy Háp rivers which recorded the mass fish deaths revealed that the water was seriously polluted.

Test results showed that the water contained excessive levels of ammonia, chemical oxygen and biochemical oxygen, which affect the health of marine animals such as shrimps and fish.

Lên attributed the water pollution to wastewater from seafood processing factories in the Hòa Trung Industrial Zone and other industrial parks in Cà Mau City, and the discharge of untreated domestic wastewater into the environment.

Nguyễn Chí Thuần, chairman of Đầm Dơi District People’s Committee, told VOV.vn that the district had experienced an unusual number of fish deaths in some rivers and canals since April this year.

The latest incident occurred in June, when local reported mass fish deaths in branches of Bảy Háp, Mương Điều and Gành Hào rivers, which cross Tân Trung Commune’s Trung Cang and Thành Vọng villages.

They suspected shrimp processing factories from the Hoa Trung Industrial Zone were discharging wastewater into the environment, polluting the water source.

The district’s People’s Committee has asked the province’s Natural Resource and Environment Department to inspect Hòa Trung Industrial Zone’s enterprises to see if there is any link between water pollution and the discharge of wastewater by companies, he said.

While waiting for a formal conclusion on the reason for the mass fish deaths, locals have been advised to not use the polluted water for shrimp farming to avoid damage, Thuần said. — VNS