More than 60 tons of dead clams whiten Ha Tinh sea

After the phenomenon of dead fish washing ashore, over the past three days, dozens of tons of clam shells have also been floating white on the beach in Ky Ha commune (Ky Anh town). These clams were determined to have died nearly 20 days ago.

>>>> Cua Lo Beach is outside the suspected contaminated area in the Central region

* Video: People sadly collect dead clams

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

More than 6 hectares of clams in Ky Ha commune (Ky Anh town, Ha Tinh) died, 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 8, and now that the water has receded, the shells are white on the beach. "My family has 1.6 hectares of land, and the clams are now 13 months old. Now, it's almost time for harvest, but suddenly a large number of them died, estimated at 18-20 tons, causing a loss of more than 700 million VND," Mr. Phuong lamented.

Standing there, staring blankly at tons of clam shells piled up, Mrs. Tran Thi Lua said her family borrowed more than 200 million to invest in clam farming, and now 15 tons of clams waiting for harvest have all died. The whole family is very worried, because they will have to bear a large debt that they do not know when they will be able to pay off.

When clams die, farmers have to pay people in the surrounding area to collect the shells and clean up the area, in preparation for the next crop. "I hired someone to collect 3 tons of clam shells to bury and improve the soil, hoping to make a living raising the next crop," one resident lamented.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Luu (53 years old, living in Bac Hai village) said that when 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 discharged into the environment caused the clams to die," Mr. Luu said.

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

Mr. Le Van Luyen, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ky Ha commune, said that the entire Ky Ha commune has 5 households raising clams with an area of ​​over 6 hectares, with an estimated output of 70 tons. Up to this point, the total number of dead clams is 63 tons, with estimated damage of approximately 3 billion VND.

"We have not yet confirmed the initial cause, however the time of clam death coincides with the time of fish death. According to experts, it is due to pollution or toxic elements in the water environment," Mr. Luyen said, adding that the incident has been recorded and reported to higher authorities.

Since the beginning of April, fish raised in cages near the Vung Ang economic zone (Ky Anh town, Ha Tinh) have begun to die. This unusual phenomenon has then spread to fish, shrimp raised in seawater, and wild fish along over 200 km of coastline from Ky Anh (Ha Tinh) to Lang Co (Thua Thien - Hue).

Households have hired people to collect clam shells to clean up the beach, preparing for new farming batches. Photo: Duc Hung

In many coastal communes, in just one day, people collected tons of dead fish drifting ashore, stuck on rocks emitting a foul smell. From small fish weighing a few ounces to 35-50 kg. Statistics up to April 25 showed that Ha Tinh province had 10 tons, Quang Binh 25 tons, and Quang Tri 30 tons of dead wild fish washed ashore.

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 teams 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 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.

* Video: People sadly collect dead clams

According to VNE