Noone blamed yet for mass dying of fish

April 27, 2016 | 23:15

(0) user say

Vietnam authorities will continue to carry out investigations to clarify the culprit causing the mass fish deaths in the central Vietnam after failing to provide evidences related suspicion on Formosa Group, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s announcement published on April 27.

photo source 24h

In the framework of the press conference organised yesterday, Deputy Minister of Natural Resource and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan said that the ministry had yet to find evidence of the link between the mass dying of fish and the discharging of wastewater into the sea at Ha Tinh province’s Vung Ang economic zone in general and Taiwanese Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Ltd., in particular.

Besides, Nhan concluded that the cause of the mass dying of fish in central Vietnam is caused by chemical toxins and the red tide phenomenon produced by human activities. However, no one has been pinpointed.

Notably, the chemical toxins were produced by human activities both maritime and mainland and the red tide phenomenon, known as harmful algal blooms (HABs), which is caused by microscopic algae. HABs produce toxins capable of killing fish and poisoning the flesh of shellfish.

Previously, the Thua Thien-Hue Department of Agriculture and Rural Development assessed that the levels of pH, chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved oxygen (DO), and Cyanide (CN-) were within the permissible limits set by the national technical regulations on marine water quality, known as QCVN 10-MT:2015/BTNMT. However, the volume of chromium and nitrogen exceeded the permissible limits of both QCVN 10-MT:2015/BTNMT and the national technical regulation on marine water quality, known as QCVN 08-MT:2015/BTNMT.