On Monday morning, fish farmers along the Dong Nai River woke up to a devastating sight, as tens of thousands of their fish died overnight.
The Dong Nai, the longest river to exist solely within Vietnam's borders, is home to scores of fish farms, according to Zing. With their livelihoods suddenly gone, local farmers are struggling to come to terms with the loss, however many believe it was untreated waste from nearby factories which caused the mass death of the fish.
One farmer, Nguyen Dinh Thanh, woke up to find over 10 tons of his fish, many of which were nearly ready to be sold, floating dead in the water. In financial terms, Thanh estimates the damage to be as great as VND1 billion (US$44,400).
Locals say their fish began dying in smaller numbers around December 31, reports Thanh Nien. Authorities had been alerted to this problem and farmers were waiting to hear back from local officials about the cause when the mass death hit.
Now, however, the information may be too little too late, as farmers will be forced to rebuild from the ground up.
“We’ve lost everything,” local farmer Nguyen Thi Gian told Thanh Nien. “I don’t know how we’re going to live.”
Local officials expected test results for the river water to be available yesterday, however there is no word yet on the exact cause of the problem.
[Photo via Zing]
