Mass fish die-off in Vietnam as heatwave roasts Southeast Asia

“All the fish in the Song May reservoir died for lack of water,” a local resident in Trang Bom district, who identified himself only as Nghia, told AFP.

“Our life has been turned upside down over the past 10 days because of the smell.”

Pictures show residents wading and boating through the 300ha Song May reservoir, with the water barely visible under a blanket of dead marine life.

According to media reports, the area has seen no rain for weeks and the water in the reservoir is too low for the creatures to survive.

Reservoir management had previously discharged water to try to save crops downstream, Nghia said.

“They then tried to renovate the reservoir, bringing in a pump to take the mud out so that the fish would have more space and water,” he said.

However, the efforts did not work and, shortly afterwards, many of the fish died, with local media reports suggesting as many as two hundred tonnes’ worth of fish may have perished.

Tuoi Tre newspaper reported that the firm in charge of managing the lake had begun dredging in early 2024, initially planning to release extra water into the reservoir for the fish.

“But owing to an unrelenting heatwave, the investor released the water into the downstream area, leading to the water level going down. As a result, fish died en masse,” the newspaper reported.

The reservoir is the water source for crops in Trang Bom and Vinh Cuu districts of Dong Nai province.

Authorities are investigating the incident while working to quickly remove the dead fish.

“We hope authorities will do their best to improve the situation,” Nghia said…