Mass fish deaths at Lim Chu Kang

Carolyn Khew The Straits Times AsiaOne 8 Mar 15;

A strong, pungent smell would have been the first thing to hit visitors to Lim Chu Kang jetty yesterday, as hundreds of dead fish washed up along its shores.

Cleaners were seen carrying bags of carcasses, which included big and small species such as mullet and catfish, while surprised passers-by watched.

Dead fish were also seen at Kranji Reservoir Park and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

Several Lim Chu Kang fish farms reported losing part of their stock overnight from the latest spate of mass fish deaths, which first hit the eastern region of Singapore two Saturdays ago.

Fish farmer Ong Kim Pit, 65, said his fish started dying at his Lim Chu Kang farm at around 9pm last Friday. More than 60,000 fish were lost, he added. He put their value at $10,000.

Most were baby mullet fish about 2.5cm to 5cm long. "It came very quickly. My fish were jumping and jumping and then they died within minutes," said Mr Ong. "I don't know why."

Another farmer, Mr Ng Chuan Huat, said he lost about 140,000 baby mullet at around the same time.
"Last year, I gave the fish oxygen and they were OK. This year, I aerated the waters but it didn't help," said the 61-year-old whose farm produces 51 tonnes of fish annually.

In response to queries regarding the latest incident, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said it is keeping daily tabs on the situation at the Lim Chu Kang fish farming areas in the West Johor Straits. There are 52 fish farms along this strait.

"We have detected elevated plankton levels in the area recently and alerted farmers on Feb 25 on the necessary precautions they should take," said a spokesman. "While a few farms have reported mortalities, the rest of the farms are largely unaffected."

On Feb 28, a wave of plankton bloom wiped out almost all fish stock at several Changi farms.

The AVA said that as of last Wednesday, the bloom had killed an estimated 500 to 600 tonnes of fish after affecting 55 out of 63 fish farms along the East Johor Straits.

Its preliminary findings showed elevated levels of Karlodinium veneficum in seawater samples which has been associated with fish kills worldwide, said the AVA. Fish that were affected include groupers, threadfin, golden trevally, rabbitfish, snapper, seabass and pompano.

Plankton blooms can be deadly as they suck oxygen from the water, suffocating other marine life. They are caused by factors such as warmer weather and a neap tide, when the high tide is at its lowest.

A similar wave around the same time last year affected 53 farms at both the East and West Johor straits, near Lim Chu Kang. About 500 tonnes of fish died.

A tired Mr Ong told The Sunday Times that he had spent about three hours cleaning up yesterday morning.
The farmer of two decades, who also rears milkfish which he sells to fish suppliers, said AVA officers came to investigate the incident, asking him how many of his fish died.

"Something about the waters is different. In the past, it used to be the lack of oxygen which I could do something about. But now, I don't know what's wrong," said Mr Ong. "What to do? When it happens, it happens."

Fish deaths: Growing concern over future of fish farms amid recurring plankton blooms
Recurring and more severe plankton blooms a big challenge for farmers
CAROLYN KHEW Straits Times 9 Mar 15;

The plankton bloom which wiped out more than 500 tonnes of fish along the East Johor Strait last week, and seems to have now affected farms in the western side, has raised concerns on the industry's future here.

Affected farmers told The Straits Times that despite earlier warnings given by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), they were shocked at how sudden and severe the latest bloom was.

Mr Simon Ho, who is in his 60s and has been in the business for five years, had put in oxygen compressors since receiving the warnings in the middle of last month. But he still lost all 35 tonnes of his fish- the product of more than a year's worth of work - at his farm off Lorong Halus jetty.

In January and February last year, thousands of fish died after being poisoned by plankton blooms caused by high temperatures and low tides.

But Mr Frank Tan, 40, who owns Marine Life Aquaculture, said that unlike last year, the bloom was much harder to detect this time.

The bloom typically turns water brownish-red, when the plankton appear in large numbers. This year, he did not see this happening.

Some fish farmers say their enterprise is a "high risk" one, given that they already have to cope with unpredictable environmental factors, such as temperature.

Of Singapore's 126 fish farms, 117 are coastal, and most grow their fish in net cages in the sea. That means the livestock is vulnerable to changes in the environment.

Now the worry is that the deadly plankton blooms may become an annual affair.

The answer may be to rear the fish in a closed containment aquaculture system, which will shield the animals from external factors.

These systems include putting the fish in giant tanks into which filtered and oxygenated seawater is pumped. These tanks can be placed on land or on platforms out at sea.

But older farmers are reluctant to make the change from the farming methods they grew up with and know so well, while others say containment systems simply cost too much.

Mr Ong Kim Pit, who is 65 and has been in the business for about 20 years, said: "It's not that easy. The containers can only rear so much fish and you need to spend thousands building them."

Still, there are those willing to take the plunge, with the help of the Government, which is encouraging greater local fish production to boost the country's food security. In 2013, 8 per cent of fish supply here came from local sources, and the plan is to increase this to 15 per cent.

Last August, the Ministry of National Development rolled out a $63 million Agriculture Productivity Fund to help local farmers boost their yields and raise productivity.

The AVA also this month awarded a tender to develop closed fish rearing systems to five companies.

One of them is The Fish Farmer, which produces 800 tonnes of fish annually at its Lim Chu Kang and Changi farms.

Chief executive Malcolm Ong, 51, hopes to grow his fish fry, which are more vulnerable to disease and the bloom, in tanks in about six months' time.

The system is estimated to cost $364,000, and AVA will reimburse some of the cost, he said.

Once the fish grow big enough, he will transfer them to net cages.

"I am really committed to finding a solution," said Mr Ong. "I am not going to be defeated by the plankton bloom."

Plankton bloom causing fish deaths 'likely to recur'
Carolyn Khew The Straits Times AsiaOne 9 Mar 15;

THE plankton bloom behind the recent mass deaths of fish along the Johor Strait is likely to keep happening.

And this will pose a "real challenge for long-term fish farming in that area", said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan yesterday.

"The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority and the fish farmers are going to have to sit down to discuss what's the best way forward."

Two Saturdays ago, coastal farms in Changi lost thousands of fish to plankton bloom. Then last Friday, farms in Lim Chu Kang were hit. More than 500 tonnes of fish have been lost.

Asked about the issue yesterday, on the sidelines of the Green Corridor Run, Dr Balakrishnan said that plankton blooms tend to occur whenever there is a dry spell or drought.

This is especially true for the waters facing the Strait of Johor.

"This is likely to be a recurrent problem with global warming, with greater incidence of both droughts as well as heavy, intense storms," he added.

Plankton blooms can be deadly as the plankton suck oxygen from the water, suffocating other marine life.

Fish deaths: Plankton bloom causing fish deaths 'likely to recur'
AVA and farmers must discuss best way to tackle challenge: Vivian
CAROLYN KHEW Straits Times 9 Mar 15;

The plankton bloom behind the recent mass deaths of fish along the Johor Strait is likely to keep happening.

And this will pose a "real challenge for long-term fish farming in that area", said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan yesterday.

"The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority and the fish farmers are going to have to sit down to discuss what's the best way forward."

Two Saturdays ago, coastal farms in Changi lost thousands of fish to plankton bloom. Then last Friday, farms in Lim Chu Kang were hit. More than 500 tonnes of fish have been lost.

Asked about the issue yesterday, on the sidelines of the Green Corridor Run, Dr Balakrishnan said that plankton blooms tend to occur whenever there is a dry spell or drought.

This is especially true for the waters facing the Strait of Johor.

"This is likely to be a recurrent problem with global warming, with greater incidence of both droughts as well as heavy, intense storms," he added.

Plankton blooms can be deadly as the plankton suck oxygen from the water, suffocating other marine life.

The National Environment Agency said that the first half of this month is expected to have less rainfall than usual. This follows significantly low levels of rain in the previous two months.

The dry weather is partly due to the early onset of the north-east monsoon's dry phase, which is characterised by drier weather and occasional wind.

Last Saturday, dead fish, including catfish and mullet, were found washed up on the shores at Lim Chu Kang jetty, resulting in a clean-up operation by the National Environment Agency which continued until yesterday.

It is believed that more than 200 bags of dead fish were collected at the jetty.

Across the Causeway, Malaysian reports estimated that six tonnes of wild and cultured fish were found dead in areas such as Johor Port and Puteri Harbour.

The AVA said last week that it will provide assistance to fish farmers affected by the fish deaths, so that they can recover and restart their operations. There are 117 coastal farms around Singapore.

It is also looking to enhance their ability to better withstand such incidents - for instance, by putting in place contingency plans.

Fish farmer Simon Ho, who is in his 60s, hopes for a longer- term solution to prevent the mass fish deaths from happening again.

The plankton bloom wiped out all 80,000 of his silver pomfrets this year.

When the bloom hit last year, he managed to save half of his stock.

"I'm not going to start rearing fish again until there's a solution to the plankton problem," said Mr Ho, who owns New Ocean Fish Farm.

"We've tried so hard already."

Channel 8 News 8 Mar 15;
浮游生物大量繁殖周期 或出现变化
发布: 08/03/2015 20:29
记者：吴俍祥

我国渔场连续两年出现鱼群死亡的事件，海洋科学专家怀疑浮游生物大量繁殖的周期起了变化，并建议农粮局收集数据，以更准确掌握水质状况，而渔农也有必要提升养殖技术。

据清洁工人说，林厝港码头过去三四天，不停有死鱼被冲上岸，现场散发阵阵恶臭。

渔农卓兴发说：“星期五大概晚上11点开始，水就没有氧气，然后我们就尽量抢救。黑鱼损失大概差不多200、300公斤。”

据了解，西部至少有五家渔场受影响。这是继上周末，东部海域的55家渔场，因浮游生物大量繁殖，以致多达600吨的养殖鱼缺氧而死，再一次出现的相同情况。

农粮局受询时说，近日在西柔佛海峡水域测出较高的浮游生物量，并在上个月25日提醒要做好必要的防范措施，尽管有一些渔农报称有鱼群死亡，不过其他渔场大多未受影响。

本地渔场今年和去年在同个时期大批鱼群死亡，海洋科学专家相信，浮游生物繁殖周期可能出现变化。

共和理工学院海洋与水产养殖系主任陈维龙说：“海水的质量已经开始慢慢地变成非常有养分，非常肥沃，而且养分在海水里面已经逗留了一段时间。 水流不是很强， 大太阳的时候，潮汐或者微生物就会大量繁殖，人口和活动越多，你的垃圾或者其他的养分处理不好的话，自然而然会排到海里面去。”

专家说，浮游生物大量繁殖周期，一般为两年到三年，如今可能已缩短到一年，因此当局有必要收集大量数据，以便更准确判断红潮来袭时间，而渔农本身也要有后备机制，随时可把鱼转移到另一个地方。

- CH8/SS