Hanoi sees mass fish kill as protests continue

By Bennett Murray

HANOI, Vietnam

Thousands of dead fish have been retrieved from Hanoi’s largest lake after resentment over April’s mass fish kill led to a rare large protest in central Vietnam.

Men dressed in military uniforms fished out the carcasses Monday from Hanoi’s Hoy Tay lake, which is situated south of an upscale neighborhood popular with wealthy locals and expatriates.

The cause of the deaths, which were first noticed late Saturday night, remains unknown according to the local Tuoi Tre newspaper.

Dang Huy Huynh, vice-president of the Vietnam Association of Conservation of Nature and Environment, said that there has never been a fish kill at the lake on such a large scale.

“Competent authorities should inspect the content of wastewater discharged into the lake. We should not rule out possible contamination,” he said according to the Tuoi Tre.

Sunday also saw thousands of protesters descend on the source of a chemical leak in central Vietnam that killed tons of fish in April and May.

The Formosa Ha Tinh Steel factory, which is owned by a subsidiary of the Taiwanese Formosa Plastics Group conglomerate, caused an environmental catastrophe when leaked chemicals killed more than 100 tons (90,718 kilograms) of fish along a stretch of coastline spanning 200 kilometers (124 miles) across four provinces.

Images posted on social media Sunday showed protesters surrounding the factory with signs calling for the plant’s closure.

A state investigation concluded in late June that the deaths were caused by “serious violations” by Formosa that resulted in the leakage of phenol, cyanide and iron oxide into the ocean.

Formosa, which admitted guilt, was ordered to spend $500 million to compensate locals whose livelihoods were damaged.

While Formosa paid the compensation as ordered by the government, the petitioners have argued that the money isn’t enough to offset lasting damage to the local fishing stock.