Around the port of Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture, where a large number of dead sardines were found on the 18th, fishermen and others worked on the recovery work on the 19th. According to Kumamoto Prefecture, the oxygen concentration in the surrounding waters had dropped to about 6% of normal, and we are investigating the cause in detail.
On the morning of the 18th, at the Goryo fishing port in Gowa Town, Amakusa City, a local resident reported that a large number of sardines were dying.
Dead sardines were found floating on the surface of the sea over a wide area around the port, and on the 18th, local fisheries cooperatives and city officials collected about 20 tons of sardines.
Around the port, from the morning of the 19th, about 100 fishermen collected the dead sardines at an oil fence and scooped them up with nets by crane trucks and manual labor.
According to the prefecture and city, a total of about 19 tons of sardines were collected on the 30th, and the collected sardines are temporarily stored away from ports and residential areas, and the disposal method has not yet been decided.
According to an investigation by Kumamoto Prefecture, there was no abnormality in the amount of plankton in the surrounding waters and no red tide was confirmed, but it was found that the oxygen concentration had dropped to about 6% of normal, so the prefecture is investigating the cause in detail.
Mr. Nobuyuki Miyamoto, Director of the Economic Department of Amakusa City, said, "This is the first time and the residents are worried, so we want to proceed with the treatment as soon as possible."
A large number of dead sardines were also found at a fishing port in Minamishimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture, across the sea, and Nagasaki Prefecture is investigating the cause.
Man who runs a fishery "Shock of all octopuses and shrimp destroyed"
A man who runs a fisherman said, "The octopus and shrimp in the cage have been wiped out and cannot be shipped to the market. Everyone will help us with the collection process."
Residents: "I can't open the windows" "Smells terrible"
A woman in her 70s who came to see the harbor said, "Yesterday, when I went outside, I smelled rotten fish and thought, 'What is it?'
A man in his 20s who lives nearby said, "When I went outside in the morning, there was a terrible smell in the air."
Aquarium: "Has the environment become unsuitable for fish?"
Takeshi Kono, director of the underwater aquarium "Seadonut" in neighboring Kami-Amakusa City, said, "Sardines are school fish, and it seems that they entered the harbor after being chased by fish larger than sardines.