Residents expressed concerns on pollution, but local authorities said the fish died as a result of salinity change.
Photos: Chinese photography gets greater recognition
Liu Chengliang was shortlisted for a series titled "Bulguksa."
PHOTO:
Liu Chengliang
Photos: Chinese photography gets greater recognition
Maoyuan Cui was shortlisted for the 2016 Sony World Photography Awards for his landscapes in Hebei province.
PHOTO:
Maoyuan Cui
Photos: Chinese photography gets greater recognition
Fan Li has been shortlisted twice in this year's contest and is a previous winner at the Sony World Photography Awards. This image is part of a series documenting the life of Tajiks, an ethnic minority living in Xinjiang province in China's far west.
PHOTO:
Fan Li
Photos: Chinese photography gets greater recognition
Zhe Zhu traced the origins of the Yangtze River in his project entitled "Wind and Water," which has been shortlisted in the "Environment" category.
PHOTO:
Zhe Zhu
Photos: Chinese photography gets greater recognition
Yong An He focuses on wildlife and the illegal capturing of migratory birds for profit in China. He was shortlisted in the "Contemporary Issues" category.
PHOTO:
Yong An He
Photos: Chinese photography gets greater recognition
Hui Zhang photographed Tang dynasty tombs and was nominated in the "Architecture" category.
PHOTO:
Hui Zang
Photos: Chinese photography gets greater recognition
The breeding of macaque monkeys for animal testing is exposed and explored by Li Feng, who was shortlisted in the "Environment" category.
PHOTO:
Li Feng
Photos: Chinese photography gets greater recognition
Wang Lijun was shortlisted in the "Low Light" open (non-professional) category for this atmospheric image.
PHOTO:
Wang Lijun
Photos: Chinese photography gets greater recognition
Longxiang Xie was shortlisted in the open contest for this photograph of Tibetan monks at the Langmu Temple in Gansu Province, during a heavy snowfall.
PHOTO:
龙湘 谢
The change in salinity levels likely occurred after a tide pushed the fish up farther into Hongcheng Lake in the city of Haikou, state-run People’s Daily reported.
Regional environment officials are still investigating.
It’s unclear what kind of fish it was, according to People’s Daily. It described it as the size of a half palm, saying residents had not seen that type of fish at the lake before.
Dozens of sanitation employees worked for hours to trash the fish, to prevent it from being sold to consumers.