200 dead fish found in Marina South canal, NEA detects 'high salinity levels' in water samples

A man in Singapore was passing by a canal along Marina South Drive at around 4:30pm on Dec. 4 when he suddenly noticed a smell of dead fish.

He then looked into the canal and was shocked to see a significant amount of fish floating upside down in the water.

In response, the man took a video of the sight, and his wife shared the footage on Facebook page Complaint Singapore.

According to the video, some dead fish could be seen drifting over a stretch of the canal while others had sunk to the bottom.

The man could also be heard commenting on their large sizes and estimating the number of dead fish to be in the "hundreds".

NEA: Water samples indicated high salinity levels

In response to Mothership's queries, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said that its officers conducted investigations onsite on Dec. 5 following feedback on the fish.

According to NEA, the water in the canal "appeared clean without any visible oil sheen, discolouration, or odour".

Officers also traced the canal, upstream drains, and surrounding sites, but they did not observe "any possible sources of pollutive discharge, such as industries or construction sites".

The agency however said that tests done on water samples indicated "high salinity levels", which it attributed to seawater entering the canal during high tide.

NEA added that clean-up operations have been carried out by its appointed service provider, which removed close to 200 dead fish from the canal.

While NEA did not specify the species of the fish in the statement, research has found that high salinity levels can be fatal to freshwater fish.

This is because water will flow out from the fish's cells into the surrounding waterbody, which has a higher salt concentration, causing the fish to suffer from dehydration.

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