Fish die en masse on Cái Nhỏ River of Tiền Giang Province. - VNA/VNS Photo |
TIỀN GIANG — More than 160 tonnes of fish raised in floating cages on Cái Nhỏ River in Tân Thanh Commune in the Mekong Delta Province of Tiền Giang have died over the past few days, incurring an initially estimated loss of up to dozens of billions of đồng.
The cause of the fish death is unknown, according to Nguyễn Tấn Cường, chairman of the communal People’s Committee.
The fish, mostly weighing more than 0.5 kg each and about to be harvested, were found dead starting on October 16. Over two days of October 19 and 20, the number of dead fish reached its highest level.
Tân Thanh Commune has 15 fish farming households with 105 cages, mainly housing Red Tilapia. Five households suffered the most severe losses.
Đỗ Văn Tăng, one of the breeders who suffered the most said that his initial loss was estimated to reach over VNĐ2 billion (US$87,000) from more than 50 tonnes of dead fish.
Many breeders sold the dead fish to fertiliser processing companies at a price of VNĐ1,000-2,000 ($0.05-0.1).
Authorised agencies of Tiền Giang Province have collected water samples to investigate the cause of the fish death.
According to Thanh Niên (Young People) newspaper, flood water released from neighbouring fields might be the cause. — VNS