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Massive Fish Deaths in East China Sea Being Probed
Initial studies indicated that the death of a large number of wild fish in the Damuyang Sea waters of the East China Sea over the past two weeks might be due to dramatic changes in hydrologic conditions in the ocean.
Firstly spotted on August 1 by local fishermen, the dead fish, including species of spotted maigre, shark and large yellow croaker, have so far floated over and area of roughly 600 square kilometers in the Sea, according to Wednesday's China Daily.
An investigation panel, consists of over 20 professors and researchers, have made two trips to the troubled waters of the Damuyang Sea but failed to find a clear explanation for the death.
"I don't think disease and pollution are the most probable cause of the massive death. Historical recordings show pollution would not affect such a wide sea area", said Zhou Zhanping, director with an ocean environmental monitoring center, quoted by China Daily.
Statistics collected on the spot indicated no large scale infectious fish disease, he added.
Local fishermen said that the spotted maigres were very sensitive to vibration and that dramatic vibration of the waters would force them to surface on the water and maybe even die, according to the newspaper.
Zhou speculated that the massive death of fish in the area might be caused by unusual crust activity on the ocean floor.
The panel will continue to probe into the problem and to work out a satisfactory answer.
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