Large stocks of fish wiped out by plankton blooms

Channel NewsAsia 28 Feb 15;

SINGAPORE: Several fish farmers in the East saw large stocks of their fish wiped out early Saturday (Feb 28) morning after the coast was hit by a tide containing huge plankton blooms.

When this happens fish have to compete with the micro-organisms for oxygen, which could cause them to die.

Philip Lim, who owns three fish farms, said: "It's huge. It'll cost me about S$50,000. All the fishes have come in just about three months ago, some of them just came in one month ago."

Mr Lim sent Channel NewsAsia videos of the scene on Saturday, saying his entire stock of fish was either dead or dying.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) had said in a statement on Friday that it would monitor the situation, and work closely with the fish farmers to mitigate the situation.

It had warned the farmers early last week after detecting elevated plankton levels in the area, said AVA.

AVA has also deployed waste disposal vessels to assist farmers in the disposal of dead fish at the East Johor Straits caused by the elevated plankton levels.

On Feb 18, coastal fish farms at the Straits reported dead fish in the area. Since then, AVA has been visiting the fish farmers to ascertain the situation, offer advice to them to mitigate the situation, such as canvas-bagging, and collecting fish samples from the affected farms for analyses.

AVA said some farms have carried out emergency harvest of the fish in view of the elevated plankton levels.

It had earlier reported that laboratory tests conducted did not detect marine biotoxins in the fish. AVA said fish harvested from local farms are safe for consumption.

- CNA/al

Mass fish deaths overnight hit Changi farmers hard

BY KASH CHEONG Straits Times 1 Mar 15;

Thousands of fish have died in coastal farms off Changi, in a repeat of last year's nightmare for farmers.

Farmers woke up yesterday morning to the sight of their fish floating belly up - the mass deaths had occurred through the night, so they had no opportunity to try to save their fish.

Dead fish were also seen along the Pasir Ris shoreline.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) attributed the deaths to gill damage caused by plankton. Lab tests conducted so far did not detect biological toxins in the fish, and fish from local farms remains safe to eat, an AVA spokesman said.

At around the same period last year, 160 tonnes of fish died suddenly, also after being poisoned by plankton, and the 39 affected fish farms lost hundreds of thousands of dollars..

Yesterday, some despairing farmers told The Sunday Times that they hope to get more support and training in modern farming methods that can minimise pollution and bacteria growth, particularly since the authorities are encouraging the trade to help boost Singapore's self-sufficiency in food production.

AVA had advised farmers to take precautions since Feb 16, when there were elevated plankton levels detected in the East Johor Strait.

But the overnight deaths took most by surprise.

"I thought I was prepared this year. I even had aerated tanks to save the fish if a few started dying," said fish farmer Timothy Hromatka, 42, who studied marine biology.

"But it was too late," said Mr Hromatka, who lost most of his fish.

Fish farmer Phillip Lim, 53, noting that a few fish had started dying as early as mid-February, added dejectedly: "That was just the 'appetiser'. Friday night was the 'main course'."

The former president of the Singapore Marine Aquaculture Cooperative estimates that almost 50 farms were affected this time round.

"It could be worse than last year. This year, it looks like more fish died and the wild fish also died," added Mr Lim, who estimates his losses at more than $50,000. He reared popular species such as seabass, snapper and pomfret.

Fish farmer Daniel Wee, 40 is in the same predicament.

He had received tens of thousands of dollars from the AVA to kick-start his fish farm again after last year's mass deaths wiped out his stock, and spent another $20,000 on fish feed. But yet again, most of his 70,000 fish were wiped out. "It's a really, really tough business now," said Mr Wee, who estimates he lost $100,000.

"We need to learn new methods to take local fish farming to the next level,"

Too late to act

"I was prepared this year. I even had aerated tanks to save the fish if a few started dying... But it was too late. This morning, when I came in, I saw my fish dying."

MR TIMOTHY HROMATKA, a fish farmer


Workers showing the dead pompano and red snapper at a kelong off Pasir Ris beach yesterday. The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore attributed the deaths to gill damage caused by plankton. -- ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM


Workers showing the dead pompano and red snapper at a kelong off Pasir Ris beach yesterday. The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore attributed the deaths to gill damage caused by plankton. -- ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM


Dead snappers at a kelong off Pasir Ris beach on Feb 28, 2015. -- ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM


Workers showing the dead sea bass at a kelong. The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) attributed the deaths to gill damage caused by plankton.  -- ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM


Workers looking at dead fish at a kelong off Pasir Ris beach on 28 February 2015.. Lab tests conducted so far did not detect biological toxins in the fish, and fish from local farms remain safe to eat, an AVA spokesman said.  -- ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM


Dead fish were also seen along the Pasir Ris shoreline. -- ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM


The dead fish, believed to have come from the wild, washed ashore along Pasir Ris beach. -- ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM


Piles of dead fish at Pasir Ris beach
Today Online 1 Mar 15;

Thousand of dead fishes, including catfish and puffer fish, washed up at Pasir Ris beach yesterday (Feb 28). Mass deaths have also been spotted at fish farms here.



Above are some pictures that showed the devastation along the shore line and the farms. (featuring mainly photos from
Sean Yap’s Facebook page and Wild Shores of Singapore)

Related links
This was also reported on Channel 8 News: http://www.channel8news.sg/mobile8/latestnews/20150228-sg-farm-fish/1686338.html