7 sets of meetings to find toxins that cause mass fish deaths
On the afternoon of April 27, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Agriculture, Industry and Trade, Health, Science... and the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology will meet to reach a final conclusion on the cause of mass fish deaths in four central provinces.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha will chair a meeting with ministries and sectors to listen to reports and reach a consensus on the cause of fish deaths in the provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien - Hue recently. This is the first time since the mass fish deaths that ministries and sectors have held a joint meeting.
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According to the Ministry of Science and Technology (the focal point), as of April 26, many research and management units of ministries and branches have surveyed and analyzed to find the cause of the fish deaths. |
Specifically, units of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Directorate of Fisheries, the Aquaculture Research Institute 1, and the Marine Research Institute, took samples of dead fish in cages in Ha Tinh; water samples, sediment samples, and plankton samples in Quang Tri, Quang Binh, and Thua Thien - Hue. Units of the Ministry of Agriculture also analyzed environmental samples, aquatic diseases, and toxic algae, and surveyed and researched ocean and coastal currents.
The Institute of Agricultural Environment (Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology) analyzed fish and water samples collected by the Aquaculture Research Institute 1 for toxicity analysis. Other research institutes under this Institute took samples of dead fish and monitored the environment, ocean currents, and satellite imagery.
The General Department of Environment (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) collected samples of seawater, wastewater, and dead fish; the National Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene (Ministry of Health) is analyzing dead fish samples sent by the Ministry of Natural Resources.
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In addition to the four ministries above, the Ministry of Industry and Trade participates as the state management agency for industrial production activities. Yesterday, the inspection team of this Ministry worked with Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation, a company that has a pipeline discharging waste into the sea, to inspect the import and use of hundreds of tons of chemicals. |
A source said that the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense will participate as agencies to protect Vietnam's seas and islands.
Regarding sending samples abroad to find the cause, speaking to the press on the afternoon of April 26, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat said that the Ministry will not do so for now but will follow the proposal of scientists.
"It is difficult to say when the results will be available. I have asked scientists to analyze by elimination method, focusing on the most likely questions to have an answer soon," said Mr. Phat.
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In early April, fish raised in cages near the Vung Ang economic zone (Ky Anh town, Ha Tinh) died en masse. This phenomenon then spread along more than 200 km of coastline from Ky Anh (Ha Tinh) to Lang Co (Thua Thien - Hue). Statistics as of April 25 showed that Ha Tinh province had 10 tons, Quang Binh 25 tons, and Quang Tri 30 tons of wild fish washed ashore dead. |
Since April 20, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology have all sent delegations to conduct field surveys, taking fish, water, and soil samples to find the cause. On April 25, the causes of epidemics, earthquakes, and oil spills were all ruled out.
Leaders of the two ministries of Natural Resources and Agriculture both confirmed that a very strong toxin from the natural environment was the cause of the disaster. However, what that toxin is has not yet been determined.
According to VNE
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