On May 8, people and vehicles traveling through Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe canal, the canal considered the most beautiful in the inner city of Ho Chi Minh City, were surprised by the scene of a series of dead fish floating white on the water surface, giving off a strong stench.
This situation occurred on a canal section about 5 km long, from Thi Nghe bridge (District 1) to Cong Ly bridge (District 3), showing signs of spreading.
According to records, not only the dead fish floating floating floating, but the living fish also simultaneously wade up the canal surface to circulate air, showing a serious lack of oxygen in the water environment. The areas with the most fish deaths include the section near Dien Bien Phu bridge (adjacent to District 1 and Binh Thanh), Hoang Hoa Tham bridge and Kieu bridge (adjacent to District 1 and Phu Nhuan).
The dead fish are mainly giant catfish, perch, and perch, many of which are larger than just a hand, and are stored in floating trash and water hyacinth. The stench rising from the canal makes road users even wear masks cover their nose.
Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, a resident living near the Kieu Bridge area, said that the situation of dead fish appeared a lot this morning, accompanied by the phenomenon of fish emerging from the dense water to breathe. "In the past few days, there has been heavy rain in Ho Chi Minh City, so the water environment may be polluted, leading to the above situation," said Mr. Tuan.
Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe canal, with a length of nearly 10 km flowing through the central districts and Tan Binh before flowing into the Saigon River, has undergone an expensive renovation process more than 10 years ago and was once considered a symbol of the revival of the urban environment. However, sadly, the situation of mass fish deaths recurs at the beginning of the rainy season almost every year.
The most serious incident occurred in 2016, when environmental workers had recovered up to 70 tons of dead fish in the canal. To overcome the consequences, Ho Chi Minh City authorities have had to use dozens of tons of chemicals to treat the environment, and at the same time recommend that people do not use fish from canals for people and livestock, as well as limit the release of fish into canals.
In the following years, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee spent a lot of money to regenerate fish resources and treat local pollution on canals. However, after the first rains of the season, the situation of dead fish and waste pollution continued to appear.
Currently, the authorities are conducting an inspection and taking water samples to determine the exact cause of this mass fish death.
