Council set up to identify cause of mass fish deaths

A council has been established by the Ministry of Science and Technology to conduct an inquiry into the mass fish deaths occurring along the coast of several central provinces.

The move on May 4 came after Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered the ministry to coordinate with relevant agencies, even inviting foreign scientists to join the investigation to quickly determine the cause of the incident.

The ministry said the inquiry has been joined by nearly 100 experts from various disciplines, who took samples of dead fish, water, deposits, plankton and others from April 7.

Several causes have been ruled out including diseases, oil spill, heat shock and impacts of an earthquake.

According to scientists, what killed the fish may be biological and chemical causes.

Earlier on May 2, Director of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology Chau Van Minh met experts from Germany, Israel and the US to discuss coordination plans in identify the cause of the fish die-off.

The fish deaths were first discovered in Ha Tinh province on April 6 and then spread to Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces.

The incident has hit the local fishing industry and tourism, with holiday-makers cancelling their plans and choosing not to eat seafood.

(Source: NDO)