BÀ RỊA-VŨNG TÀU — A number of fish breeders in Long Sơn Commune, Vũng Tàu City, are concerned because their fish have been dying in the past 10 days and the situation does not appear to be easing.

Phan Hoàng Sơn, one of the breeders, said the fish refused to eat, became weak and then died.

Earlier Sơn bred 50,000 small butterfish and 20,000 cobias in the Chà Và River, but now only 25,000 and 3,500 were left, respectively.

Worried that the fish were suffering from some disease, Sơn took then to Bến Đá Commune for breeding, however, they continued to die despite the new surroundings.

Several other breeders are facing a similar situation.

Locals believe the fish are dying because various seafood processing plants in Tân Hải Commune, Tân Thành District, are discharging waste water without treatment, polluting the Chà Và River.

Nguyễn Hữu Thì, an official from the Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Seafood Breeding Department, said at present, 300 households are breeding fish along the Chà Và River in nearly 6,000 fish cages. The density has reached an alarming level, he said.

He said locals should reduce the density and report to seafood organisations or the veterinary science department whenever the fish appears to be suffering from health problems.

“The weather is changing from the sunny season to the rainy season, so residents should be vigilant with regard to the upstream water because it could affect the salt level in the water,” Thì said.

Residents should buy small fish with quarantine papers from well-known shops and test the fish to see whether they are suffering from any disease before breeding them, he said.

Initial tests of the department revealed that small butterfishes were found to be suffering from a parasite-related disease.

Earlier, in September 2015, hundreds of tonnes of fish died, resulting in losses of more than VNĐ18 billion (US$800,000) for residents. The report of the Environment and Natural Resources Institute under the HCM City National University showed that 76 per cent of the fish died because various seafood processing plants in Tân Hải Commune had discharged untreated waste water into the river.

At the beginning of last year, fish also died en mass, causing losses of VNĐ37 billion ($1.6 million). Several reasons were defined, including polluted environment and shortage of oxygen. Residents were given instructions to limit their losses. — VNS