Authorities hire divers to collect live clam samples after tons of shells wash ashore

Tons of purple clam shells have piled up along more than 4 kilometers of shoreline in Yen Hoa commune, Ha Tinh, prompting local authorities to hire divers to search for live clams and determine what happened.

Officials and residents, assisted by troops from Regiment 841 under the Ha Tinh Military Command, collected, gathered and processed the shells to protect the beach environment and landscape. The shells washed ashore more than a week ago, with some piles stretching hundreds of meters. The affected area lies about 1 kilometer from residential neighborhoods.

Bui Tuan Son, head of Ha Tinh’s fisheries sub-department, said similar shell wash-ups had been recorded in previous years. This episode, however, involved a much larger quantity. Fisheries officials inspected the site and tried to take samples, but the clam meat had already decomposed, leaving only shells.

Yen Hoa Chairman Phan Quang Cuong said the commune now plans to hire divers to collect live clams from the offshore area and send them to the provincial fisheries authority for testing. Officials want to determine whether the clams had any disease.

Local authorities said an organization recently released shellfish into the area to restore aquatic resources. They suggested that the dead clams might have come from that release, but stressed that there is not yet enough evidence to confirm the connection.

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The phenomenon of purple clam shells washing ashore in Yen Hoa commune has been recorded in previous years, but the quantity this time is greater than in previous episodes.