Thousands of dead fish spotted at Lim Chu Kang

Thousands of dead fish spotted at Lim Chu Kang

    POSTED: 04 Jul 2013 12:03 AM
 
Thousands of dead fish have been found floating at sea and on the shore at the Lim Chu Kang area as well as the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

SINGAPORE: Thousands of dead fish have been found floating at sea and on the shore at the Lim Chu Kang area as well as the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

The dead fish were among 90 tonnes of fish belonging to four farms in the Lim Chu Kang area.

AVA said the fish have died due to lack of oxygen in the water. This, it said, was caused by the hot and dry weather which lowered the level of dissolved oxygen in the water.

AVA has been working closely with local farmers to encourage good farm practices which include properly bagging dead fish and disposing of them in bins.

Fish farms in Singapore are licensed by AVA. Under the conditions of licensing, coastal fish farms have to ensure that waste generated from their operations are properly disposed of in approved waste containers on land.

However, AVA noted that during the farms' emergency operations to remove the dead fishes for disposal, some could have dropped into the sea and got washed ashore.

In anticipation of more waste, AVA said it had activated the waste disposal company to increase the frequency of disposal.

Three additional trips were made on top of the usual trip to clear waste last weekend.

AVA also conducts routine surveillance and monitors fish farms regularly for compliance to licensing conditions.

“We will take enforcement action if farms are found to be disposing their farm waste into the waters. In addition, we work with relevant agencies to detect illegal dumping of waste into the sea by fish farms," said a spokesman from AVA.

Under the Fisheries Act, any person who illegally disposes of dead fish into the waters can be jailed up to 12 months, and fined up to S$10,000.

- CNA/fa


- wong chee tat :)