Large numbers of fish have died, with others clearly dying, in a heavily polluted canal at a village in tambon Na Muang Phet in Sikao district of Trang province, residents said.
Villagers living along Khlong Angthong said the fish began to die on Sunday evening. The canal smells foul, from both the polluted water and the dead fish.
They believed rubber-processing factories along the canal had discharged untreated water into the water.
Saroj Khamnarong, 41, a resident, said the pollution has damaged the eco-system.
With the average price of rubber only 3 baht per kilogramme, the villagers rely heavily on fish from local waterways for their livelihood. Now even that is being denied them, he said.