A recent mass fish die-off in the Song May reservoir in Dong Nai province, Southern Vietnam, has brought attention to the alarming rise in temperatures across Southeast Asia.
Amidst a severe heatwave, fishermen are grappling with the daunting task of clearing hundreds of thousands of dead fish that now cover the 300-hectare reservoir. The scorching temperatures, reaching nearly 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), coupled with intense drought conditions in April, have left farmers battling to sustain their crops.
Local communities and media outlets are attributing the incident to a combination of factors, including the drought, heatwave, and issues with reservoir management. Distressing images depict fish piled on top of one another, dried out, and disintegrated.
According to reports, the water levels in the reservoir had dropped significantly due to the prolonged absence of rainfall, rendering the environment uninhabitable for the fish. Nghia, a resident from Trang Bom district, lamented, “Our life has been turned upside down over the past 10 days because of the smell.”
Efforts to remove the deceased fish seem almost overwhelming, despite the use of numerous buckets and nets. Local media speculates that up to 200 tons of fish perished, partly due to a failed attempt to renovate the reservoir. Images reveal a desolate reservoir bed, cracked and muddied, with clusters of dead fish floating in the remaining water.
Nghia recounted that the renovation efforts included using a pump to remove mud, aiming to provide more space for the fish to thrive. The Song May reservoir typically supplies water for crops in Trang Bom and Vinh Cuu districts, and authorities had previously discharged water from it to save downstream crops.
Tuoi Tre newspaper reported that additional water, intended for the fish, was diverted downstream due to the relentless heatwave.
As investigations into the mass die-off continue, authorities are focusing on the daunting task of removing the deceased fish from the reservoir.
