The death of thousands of fish in a reservoir in the Dong Nai province, in southern Vietnam, has brought the impact of climate change with high temperatures in Southeast Asia into the spotlight.
Fishermen have been working to make their way through and collect the hundreds of thousands of dead fish that have covered the 300-hectare Song May reservoir amid a fierce heatwave.
An intense drought struck southern Vietnam in April, with temperatures reaching nearly 40 degrees, leaving farmers struggling to keep their crops alive. Members of the community and local media are blaming the drought, heatwave, and issues with reservoir management as contributing factors.
Thousands of fish die in Vietnam
Recent photos show fish piled on top of each other, muddy, dried out, and disintegrated. According to reports, the water in the lake was too low for the animals to survive, as there has been no rain for weeks.
Even with numerous buckets and nets, removing all the fish seems to be an almost insurmountable task. Local media have suggested that up to 200 tons died after a failed attempt to renew the reservoir.
In the images, the reservoir bed can be seen visibly dry, cracked, and muddy, with dead fish piled up floating in the remaining water. The effort to renew the reservoir included using a pump to remove the mud, so the fish would have more space to move around.
The reservoir provides water for crops in the Trang Bom and Vinh Cuu districts, and its management had previously released water from it in an attempt to save downstream crops. Local media reported that the additional water initially planned to be released into the reservoir for the fish was diverted downstream due to the “relentless heatwave.” Authorities are investigating the massive die-off as efforts continue to remove the dead fish.
VIDEO: Hundreds of thousands of fish have died in a reservoir in southern Vietnam’s Dong Nai province, with locals and media reports suggesting a brutal heatwave and the lake’s management are to blame. pic.twitter.com/4HaU6Pyiza
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 2, 2024
