日前在新加坡海岸發生一起魚群集體大量死亡事件，引起民眾關注
上週日早晨，Bryan Ang 一早到海上箱網即發現，他位於馬來西亞和新加坡的魚場浮屍遍野。

“我們醒來的時候，看到所有的魚浮肚了，”他說： “這是毀滅性的。”

他並僅是為一發生的一位，數百魚噸無論養殖和野生的魚種，上週皆死於在海峽東部，養殖戶超過了了數十萬美元的損失。

這些死魚漂浮在海上、沙灘和紅樹林間，這些死亡生物從海蛇和海馬魷魚和海鰻都有。

自然和環境生物學系的學生Sean Yap ，提供了一系列的圖片給BBC，他說尚週六晚上沿著東白沙海灘慢跑，當時他突然聞到一股惡臭。

“死魚遍野"成千上萬的死魚衝上了岸，並且隨著海浪湧上一波波新的死魚。

環保部門表示，死亡原因可能是由於浮游生物，由於浮游生物迅速倍增，損害魚鰓造成魚類瞬間緊迫暴斃。

政府機構無法提供BBC明確的數字，但他們表示將持續“關注”對海洋生物多樣性的潛在影響，並採取措施進行調查，幫助農民清理。

葉先生說，他發現這件驚人的事，即使一些環境耐受物種，如穴居的鯰魚和蝦虎魚，也被發現死亡。這種情況令人擔憂，因為這可能意味著食物鏈的基礎受到重大影響。

在過去五年來曾發生類似的大規模魚類死亡，當發生的時候，當局會早期預警養殖戶，提醒他們即時收獲或將魚隻趕進防護網內，啟動水泵，以保持水的運動，甚至將箱網移動至安全地區。

有的設法挽救他們的養殖魚種，但很少有人預料到浮游生物竟可在即短時間，將魚群集體殺滅。

幾個養殖戶告訴BBC，在柔佛，馬來西亞國家最接近新加坡海峽西部的快速發展，是影響水質的因素之一。

在馬來西亞的浮游生物繁生一帶，海中營養素的含量特別高，而在那裡的所有這些營養素來自哪裡？土地復墾，”弗蘭克坦說。

新加坡收回了北部沿海的部分地區，並克制​​住了河口在東北建立水庫。抽取數百萬美元成就養殖業，以提高其國內的糧食安全。

最新的政府數據顯示，目前有117養殖場周邊島嶼海域，分佈在102公頃 - 空間相比十年前的兩倍。

林寶博士青少年，海洋學家與馬來亞大學，說，氣候變化，部分要歸咎於大量繁殖，通過影響溫度和天氣模式。

“但在地方層面，你可以看到在過去幾年農場的數量增加。”他說，這是直接從魚食和廢物增加了水的營養水平。

“我們需要有非常嚴格的控制，提高了水的循環。”

一些養殖戶也因為重大損失不堪虧損而停止營業。

“這個週末的事件是我見過的最糟糕的。每個人都嚇壞了。”陳先生說。 “我們可能現在已經搬遷。”他說，他盯上點到新加坡的南部。

但許多農民都希望能放養魚苗，他們可以挽救他們的剩餘庫存來度過這一年。說洪先生說：“我們正試圖向人們解釋，我們的魚仍然是可食用的，我們只需要重新獲得人民的信任。”

原文來源：http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31724554?OCID=fbasia

Mass fish deaths off Singapore coast spark concern

Last Sunday morning, Bryan Ang woke up onboard his floating fish farm on the Johor Strait between Malaysia and Singapore to find nearly all his stock had died.

"We woke up and saw all the fish floating belly-up," he said. "It's devastating."

He was not alone. Hundreds of tonnes of fish - both farmed and wild - died over the weekend in the eastern part of the strait. Fish farmers lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock overnight.

Floating out at sea and washing up on the beaches and mangroves, dead sea creatures began to appear, from sea snakes and seahorses to squid and moray eel.

Nature guide and environmental biology student Sean Yap - who supplied some of these pictures to the BBC - said he was jogging along the eastern Pasir Ris beach on Saturday evening when he smelt a foul stench.

It came from what he described as a "mass grave" - thousands of dead fish washed up on shore.

"There were cleaners present on the shore on Sunday morning to deal with the carcasses, but when we returned at night the high tide had brought in a new batch of bodies."

The environmental authorities said the deaths were due to a plankton bloom, where a species of plankton multiplies rapidly, damaging the gills of fish. It can be triggered by sudden changes in temperature, high nutrient levels in the water, and poor water circulation.

Government agencies were unable to provide the BBC with figures, but said they were "concerned" about the potential impact on marine biodiversity and were taking steps to investigate and help farmers clean up.

Mr Yap said he found it alarming that even species such as catfish and burrowing gobies, which are considered to be more resilient, were found dead. The deaths of "invertebrates like worms is also alarming, as it may mean that the base of the food chain is affected," he said.

There have been similar mass fish deaths in the past five years. This time round, the authorities had given an early warning to farmers - giving them time to move their stock into protective nets, activate pumps to keep the water moving or even float their entire farm to safer areas.

Some managed to save their stock, but few had anticipated the intensity of the plankton bloom nor how quickly it would strike, killing the fish en masse within hours.

Several fish farmers told the BBC that rapid development in the western part of the strait in Johor, the Malaysian state closest to Singapore, was one of the factors affecting the water quality.

"The plankton bloomed this fast because the nutrient content in the sea is so high. And where are all these nutrients coming from? Land reclamation in Malaysia," said Frank Tan.

But tiny Singapore has also reclaimed parts of its northern coast, and dammed up estuaries in the northeast to create reservoirs. It has pumped millions of dollars into the fish farming industry to boost its domestic food security.

Latest government figures show there are now 117 fish farms in waters surrounding the island, spread out over 102ha - twice the amount of space compared to a decade ago.

Dr Lim Po Teen, a marine scientist with the University of Malaya, said climate change was in part to blame for the blooms, by affecting temperatures and weather patterns.

"But on a local level, you can see the number of farms increasing in the last few years", he said, which is directly increasing the level of nutrients in the water from fish food and waste.

"We need to have very strict controls and improve the water circulation."

Some of the farmers reeling from the loss of their stock were considering moving away altogether to less troubled waters.

"This weekend's incident was the worst I'd ever seen. Everyone is horrified." said Mr Tan. "We may have to relocate now." He said he was eyeing spots to the south of Singapore.

But many of the farmers were hoping to get through the year by restocking with new fry and selling what little they could save of their remaining stock. Said Mr Ang: "We are trying to explain to people that our fish is still edible. We just need to regain people's trust."