© AgenciesA fisherman rows a boat in the algae-filled Chaohu Lake in Hefei, Anhui province July 3, 2011. Algae outbreaks have repeatedly hit the lake in recent years.
Beijing - Dead seaweed and rotting fish in the water around Nanhuangcheng Island in Shandong province, which is close to the site of a recent oil leak, suggest the local waters were polluted by the incident, say observers.
"The oil leak will definitely influence the fishing industry nearby but we must carry out further investigations to see if the oil leak is the direct reason for the dead seaweed and fish," said a representative from the fisheries association in Changdao county. The county administers Nanhuangcheng Island.
"The environmental impact caused by the oil leak is long-term," the man named Xiao told China Daily on Monday.
