White objects are floating near the river mouth… and several more have been carried away in the surrounding area. This was filmed on the 6th near Yano-Nishi, Aki Ward, Hiroshima City. [Shunsuke Nakagawa, who filmed the video] “They were floating in a swarm-like area, and there were a considerable number of fish.” The dead fish are believed to be mullet and black sea bream. [Shunsuke Nakagawa, who filmed the video] “It looks like the fish had been dead for several days and were swollen up and accumulating gas, causing them to float.”
More than 20 fish were floating near the river mouth today, and a putrid smell hung in the air. [A neighbor said] “I’ve never seen anything like it before, so I was surprised. There was no smell yesterday, but it stinks today.”
Q: Does it still smell? “Well, it’s floating…” According to the Hiroshima City Environmental Conservation Division, no abnormalities were found in the water quality tests, but the cause is unknown. Why did this mass death occur? Experts say… [Professor Kengo Ota, Fukuyama University] “The cause of death is the same. It wasn’t a problem specific to the black sea bream; it just seemed like all the fish that happened to be there died. This is just speculation, but it’s possible that the large amount of rainwater that has flowed in over the past few days has drastically lowered the salinity near this river mouth.”
