Over 60 tons of clams die off the coast of Ha Tinh province.

Following the mass fish deaths that washed ashore, over the past three days, tens of tons of clam shells have also been floating on the beaches of Ky Ha commune (Ky Anh town). These clams were determined to have died nearly 20 days ago.

Cua Lo beach is outside the suspected toxic contamination zone in Central Vietnam.

Video: Locals sadly collect dead clams.

On the afternoon of April 27th, dozens of households in Bac Hai commune, Ky Ha district (Ky Anh town, Ha Tinh province) hurriedly collected dead clam shells floating on the beach.

Over 6 hectares of clams belonging to residents of Ky Ha commune (Ky Anh town, Ha Tinh province) have died in the canals, with their shells floating white on the beach. Photo: Duc Hung

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuong (residing in Bac Hai village) said that the dead clams were discovered on April 8th, and now that the tide has receded, the shells are white all over the beach. "My family has 1.6 hectares of land, and the clams are currently 13 months old. Just before harvest, they suddenly died in large numbers, estimated at about 18-20 tons, a loss of over 700 million VND," Mr. Phuong lamented.

Standing there, staring blankly at the piles of clam shells, Mrs. Tran Thi Lua said that her family borrowed over 200 million VND to invest in clam farming, and now 15 tons of clams, ready for harvest, have all died. The whole family is very worried, as they will have to bear a large debt that they don't know when they will be able to repay.

When clams die, farmers have to spend money hiring local people to collect the shells and clean up the beaches in preparation for subsequent farming seasons. "I hired people to collect 3 tons of clam shells to bury and improve the soil, hoping to salvage something from the next farming season," one resident lamented.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Luu (53 years old, residing in Bac Hai village) said that at the time the dead clams were discovered, the water was murky, but it later receded. "We suspect that pollution from factories in the Vung Ang Economic Zone discharging waste into the environment caused the clams to die," Mr. Luu stated.

The clams were confirmed to have died on April 8th, coinciding with the discovery of dead fish in the waters off Ky Anh town. Photo: Duc Hung.

According to Mr. Le Van Luyen, Chairman of the Ky Ha Commune People's Committee, the entire Ky Ha commune has 5 households raising clams with an area of ​​over 6 hectares, with an estimated production of 70 tons. To date, the total number of dead clams is 63 tons, with estimated losses of approximately 3 billion VND.

"We haven't confirmed the initial cause yet, however, the time the clams died coincided with the time the fish died. According to expert assessments, it was due to pollution or toxic elements in the water environment," Mr. Luyen said, adding that the incident has been documented and reported to higher authorities.

From the beginning of April, fish raised in cages by local people near the Vung Ang economic zone (Ky Anh town, Ha Tinh province) began dying. This unusual phenomenon then spread to fish and shrimp raised in seawater, as well as wild fish along more than 200 km of coastline from Ky Anh (Ha Tinh) to Lang Co (Thua Thien - Hue).

Locals have hired people to collect clam shells to clean up the beaches, preparing for new breeding cycles. Photo: Duc Hung

In many coastal communes, in just one day, people collected tons of dead fish washed ashore, clinging to rocks and emitting a foul odor. The fish ranged in size from a few hundred grams to 35-50 kg. Statistics up to April 25th show that Ha Tinh province had 10 tons, Quang Binh 25 tons, and Quang Tri 30 tons of dead wild marine fish washed ashore.

From April 20th to the present, delegations from the Ministries of Natural Resources and Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development, Industry and Trade, and the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology have conducted field surveys, collecting fish, water, and soil samples to determine the cause. On April 25th, disease outbreaks, earthquakes, and oil spills were ruled out as causes.

Leaders from both the Ministry of Natural Resources and Agriculture affirmed that highly potent toxins from the natural environment were the cause of the disaster. However, the specific nature of these toxins remains undetermined.

Video: Locals sadly collect dead clams.

According to VNE