Large numbers of dead fish have washed up on the shores of the Keelung River from Zhongshan Bridge to Dazhi Bridge, probably because of consecutive days of high temperatures, the Taipei City Government said.
The city government said it expected to finish clearing the dead fish from the river today.
The Taipei Environmental Protection Bureau said that the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water near the dead fish was 3.5 milligrams per liter, which is about four to five times lower than normal.
Photo: EPA
The water temperature was 30.3oC, far higher than the average high temperature of 28.1oC in recent years, the bureau said.
The pH of the river was 7.3 which is normal, the bureau said, adding that despite the mass fish deaths the tilapia population in the river was alive and well.
“We suspect that the cause of mass death in fish is not due to contamination, but high temperatures,” the bureau said.
The bureau said it set up netting and floating blocks near the Bailing and Zhongshan bridges to prevent the dead fish washing downriver and was working with the Water Resources Agency to remove the dead fish.
The bureau said it could not give an accurate estimate on the total number of fish killed.
The bureau said that similar incidents have occurred in Yilan County’s Dongshan River (冬山河), Taoyuan’s Laojie Creek (老街溪), the Bitan area (碧潭) in New Taipei City’s Xindian District (新店) and in Xizhi District (汐止).
Taipei Public Works Department official Yu Pai-sung (游百崧) said that the greatest concentration of dead fish was near a river junction.
The department yesterday sent out three boats to help clear the fish, and at least one returned before noon fully laden, Yu said.
The department sent out an additional two boats yesterday afternoon to expedite the operation, Yu said.
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
ANNUAL LIGHT SHOW: The lanterns are exhibited near Taoyuan’s high-speed rail station and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the airport MRT line More than 400 lanterns are to be on display at the annual Taiwan Lantern Festival, which officially starts in Taoyuan today. The city is hosting the festival for the second time — the first time was in 2016. The Tourism Administration held a rehearsal of the festival last night. Chunghwa Telecom donated the main lantern of the festival to the Taoyuan City Government. The lanterns are exhibited in two main areas: near the high-speed rail (HSR) station in Taoyuan, which is at the A18 station of the Taoyuan Airport MRT, and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the MRT
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights
Nearly 800 Indian tourists are to arrive this week on an incentive tour organized by Indian company Asian Painted Ltd, making it the largest tour group from the South Asian nation to visit since the COVID-19 pandemic. The travelers are scheduled to arrive in six batches from Sunday to Feb. 25 for five-day tours, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The tour would take the travelers, most of whom are visiting Taiwan for the first time, to several tourist sites in Taipei and Yilan County, including tea houses in Taipei’s Maokong (貓空), Dadaocheng (大稻埕) and Ximending (西門町) areas. They would also visit