Scubaism

A mandarin farmer in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture admitted Tuesday to having accidentally leaked a large amount of pesticide into a ditch, the Sankei Shimbun reports. When the prefecture inspected the nearby Tamashima river, they found some 3,000 sweetfish (ayu) and brook trout had died because of the leakage.

According to the prefecture’s environmental section, a hose leading to a tank filled with mite insecticide became clogged up and came off, leading to some 300 liters of the substance ran into a nearby ditch..

Tamashima river is famous for being a good spot for sweetfish, but there has since June this year been several reports of large finds of large amounts of the fish dead. The prefecture is currently examining whether there is a link to mandarin and other farmers’ use of pesticide.