250,000 tonnes of fish die overnight in central China river
Beijing - An estimated 250,000 tonnes of fish died in a river in central China's Hubei province overnight, with fishermen saying polluted water from a pig farm upriver could be to blame, a news report said Thursday.
Most of the fish were raised by fishermen inside large floating cages in Shanfong fish pond in a river in Jianli county, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
"100 per cent of the fish have died," a fishermen told Xinhua.
The fish farm had 33 cages and total losses could reach 1.6 million dollars, the fishermen said.
Polluted waterways are a major problem in China. In the spring of 2013, an estimated 10,000 dead pig carcasses were found in Shanghai's Huangpu River over a period of two weeks, with another 4,600 carcasses found upstream in Jiaxing, 100 kilometres further south-west.
While China has almost 20 per cent of the world's population, the country contains only 7 per cent of the world's freshwater.
At least one-third of China's lakes and rivers are unfit for human use, according to a recent study by the International Water Association.
