Local households engaging in lobster and oyster farming in Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam are reeling under losses following mass lobster and oyster deaths, the provincial animal husbandry and veterinary sub-department said on Friday.

The mass lobster deaths took place during two days starting from September 21 in Cam Ranh City.

Prior to the incident, local inhabitants spotted a red stream of water, measuring 200 meters wide and 600 meters long, some 500-600 meters away from the shore and near an area where lobsters died in large numbers.

At a lobster farm owned by Dang Ngoc Thanh, some 40 percent of lobsters housed in 17 cages died while all lobsters in eight nursery cages died.

Similarly, half of juvenile lobsters kept in four cages at a farm run by Nguyen Minh Tan also died.

Owners of some other lobster farms in the neighborhood also reported lobster deaths but at lower rates.

Tran Thanh Thuy, deputy head of provincial animal husbandry and veterinary sub-department, said competent forces collected and tested water samples at these farms and found that the oxygen content there was very low.

The shortfall of oxygen for a quite long time can leave lobsters dead, Thuy elaborated.

Regarding the red stream of water, it disappeared before a working team from the sub-department visited the area for collecting and testing water samples, Thuy said.

The impact of the red water stream, which was possibly caused by algal blooms, probably led to the low oxygen content and then mass lobster deaths, the sub-department said.

Local seafood farmers should regularly monitor environmental factors, especially the oxygen content, and the health condition of lobsters in their farms to timely cope with any issue arising.

Some aquaculture businesses in Van Ninh Town also reported mass oyster deaths.

Up to 90 percent of oysters at a farm run by Pacific Nha Trang oyster company died, causing the firm to incur an estimated loss of some 70 metric tons of commercial oysters.

At another oyster farm owned by Phan Tan Tri, 70 percent of the oysters there died, equivalent to a loss of some 10 metric tons of commercial oysters.

The sub-department attributed the mass oyster deaths to high-density farming, inadequate nutrition, and unpleasant weather conditions.

To prevent similar incidents, local aquaculture farmers and businesses should space farming cages, closely monitor the health of oysters, and prevent the water in the cages from being contaminated, the sub-department advised.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!