The disaster has affected teh livelihoods of at least 22 households, who farmed in the delta.
The dead fish were mostly silver pomfret (Pampus argenteus) and tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus and shrimp floated to the surface along a 20-kilometer stretch of the Hau River.
Fish breeders in Trung Kien and Thoi Thuan communes and Thot Not Town, all in Can Tho City’s Thot Not District, noticed their stock starting to die on Saturday.
Authorities have dispatched personnel to the affected communes to investigate the cause of the problem.
Officials told Thanh Nien Sunday they had collected water samples for analysis.
Nguyen Minh Toai, deputy mayor of Thot Not District, confirmed a tanker containing molasses for a nearby alcohol business north of the town had sprung a leak at about midnight on Friday night.
The fish breeders told Thanh Nien they suspected the molasses leak had poisoned their stocks.
Mekong Fish Farmers Hit by Mystery Fish Deaths
VIET NAM - At reported 400 tonnes of farmed fish worth VND6 billion (US$356,000)were found dead over the weekend in the Mekong Delta.