Taiwan councilor says mass fish death common in Taichung river

台灣議員反應台中河魚類大量死亡現象常見

Authorities credit lack of oxygen in water, TPP legislator blames wastewater discharge


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Tens of thousands of fish carcasses were found floating on the surface of a Taichung river on Monday (March 24) in an incident some suspect was caused by a wastewater discharge from an upstream factory, per CNA.

Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Chiang Ho-shu (江和樹) said the site of thousands of dead fish in the Toubiankeng River is a common sight on Mondays. Chiang said it was suspected that upstream factories were secretly discharging wastewater over the weekend.

The Taichung City Environmental Protection Bureau said testing had discovered a lack of oxygen in the river's waters in recent days. It did not comment on reported suspicions that wastewater was to blame and said investigations were ongoing.

Authorities’ inspections found that no heavy metals or poisons were detected in the water, and pH levels were within the normal range. It said low oxygen levels in the water caused by increased aquatic plant activity following reduced rainfall was suspected to be the main cause of the fish dying en masse.

Authorities also said that those who violate water protection regulations may be fined up to NT$3 million (US$94,000), and companies may be fined up to NT$20 million.