A total of 325 tons of trout perished at two separate fish farms in the eastern province of Van’s Gürpınar district as a result of oxygen deprivation.

The dead fish were buried underground and a report was filed by the District Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry teams.

Reşit Yılmaz, the owner of the facility where 90 tons of fish perished, stated that 90% of their annual production perished due to a decrease in oxygen levels in the waters.

"There are only 10 tons of fish left now. Speaking from the way things stand, we might have to close the facility. Experts told us that the mouths of the dead fish were found open indicating that they died from lack of oxygen. Three of the remaining trout production facilities in the district have closed owing to the same reason," he said.

The samples and report prepared by the district teams of Agriculture and Forestry, sent to the eastern province of Elazığ, confirmed that the fish died from oxygen deprivation, said Veysel Yücel, manager of the other facility where 235 tons of fish have perished.

Stating that they used to sell the majority of the trout to the neighboring provinces, Yücel demanded authorities find a solution to the issue before the remaining facilities are also threatened by closures.