Death fish found on the coasts of central Vietnam. (Photo: Thanh Quang/Thanh Nien)

Massive fish deaths spark suspicions over the real cause

VIET NAM
Thursday, April 28, 2016, 23:30 (GMT + 9)

Vietnamese authorities have banned the sale and distribution of aquatic products from the coasts of central Vietnam due to an ongoing environmental disaster affecting this region, where huge numbers of dead fish washed ashore.

Government sources explained that the fish could have been killed by toxic discharge caused by humans or "red tide", when algae blooming at an abnormal rate produce toxins, Reuters reported.

However, there are concerns raised from possible links to the discharge from a new Taiwanese-built steel plant, a unit of Formosa Plastics, which authorities disregarded after finding no evidence.

According to Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan, all environmental statistics at these facilities are within the “allowed standards.”

“Whether toxic chemicals are to blame is an extremely complicated problem that requires a long time for an explanation to be figured out,” the Deputy Minister asserted.

Tran The Muu, deputy head of the Research Institute for Aquaculture No.1, backed Nhan’s viewpoint by mentioning a similar case in Japan, in which it took local scientists 12 years to identify the real cause.

Deputy Minister Nhan described the steps to follow to clarify the issue, saying that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will be responsible for providing the results of the examination on the collected samples of seawater and issuing cautions on aquaculture activities as well as seafood consumption.

In addition, the Ministry of Science and Technology will be in charge of the mobilization of research institutes and scientists for the analysis of the tests as well as seeking for consultation of foreign experts if necessary.

As a precautionary measure, the Ministry of the Environment has warned residents in the affected provinces not to eat dead fish and sell them to animal feed companies.

Nevertheless, professor Dr Le Phat Quoi of the Ho Chi Minh City National University, told the newspaper Thanh Nien that the Environment Ministry’s conclusion was not convincing, since it did not include detailed data related to the tests on the seawater or the dead fish.

This expert claimed that there were reports that tests conducted in Thua Thien-Hue Province found some heavy metals, including chromium, in the seawater and rejected the theory of red tides, saying that harmful algal blooms would have affected a much larger area.

Dr. Quoi ensured the fish were poisoned by a considerable amount of heavy metals in the seawater.

Besides, another respected environmental expert, Dr To Van Truong, in statements to the same media source stated he believed Formosa’s use of chemicals to clean sewage pipes had killed the fish.

“The solution used to clean sewage pipe is usually very hard to be treated, as it contains many substances that are not easily diluted and decomposed,” he pointed out.

This plant appears to be the prime suspect in the case since its sewage pipe running straight into the sea was discovered hidden deep under the water.

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