Fishermen and traders in the central region are facing huge losses as they have been unable to sell their catches due to the recent mass fish deaths in the central provinces.


 

Empty restaurant


From early April, thousands of fish along the coast from the central provinces of Ha Tinh to Thua Thien-Hue’s have died.

The Centre for Environment and Disease Monitoring in Aquaculture reported that untreated waste water from Vung Ang Industrial Zone was discharged directly into the environment and had contaminated the water.

Local tourism has been badly affected as the beach is now full of rotting dead fish. Seafood restaurants are in dire state and market traders are fearing huge losses.


 

Mass fish deaths badly affected the traders


Fish prices have dropped by 80 to 90 percent. Grouper has fallen from VND200,000 to VND30,000 a kilo, with catfish prices falling from VND80,000 to VND20,000.

"Normally, the seafood stalls would be crowded but now no one dare to buy seafood," said Pham Thi Hue, a trader at Dong Hoi Market in Quang Binh Province.

Traders at other markets such as Ba Don, Hoan Lao and Nhan Trach said they were only able to sell freshwater fish.

A trade named Kieu said, "I just bought a fresh batch from fishermen today but only one kilo was sold in the whole morning. At this rate, I'll incur a loss of VND10m for this batch alone."


 

No one wants to buy fish


Without consumers, fishermen are unemployed. Fishermen in Quang Binh Province said they had not worked for ten days.

Fisherman Vo Loi from Quang Tri Province said, "This situation is causing panic among consumers and fishermen. Fish living far from the shore are fine but fish living near the beach, within the radius of five to seven nautical miles, are all dead.If the authorities can't find out the cause and have measures to deal with this situation quickly, it'll take years for the fish to repopulate."

Many fishermen in Quang Tri Province are also thinking of staying home until the situation is sorted out.

Local authorities advised people to not buying and eating dead fish. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development asked farmers to closely monitor their fish and stop using any suspicious water sources.

Government demands cautious but quick investigation of mass fish deaths

Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung on Sunday had a fact-finding tour to Ky Ha Commune, Ky Anh Town of the central province of Ha Tinh following mysterious mass fish deaths along the central coast.

Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung visits a farm in Ky Ha Commune, Ky Anh Town, Ha Tinh Province to inspect mass fish deaths on April 24, 2016.

Tones of dead fish have been discovered on beaches of the central coast of Ha Tinh, Quang Tri, Quang Binh and Thua Thien-Hue, sparking anxiety among local residents over the past days.

The Government pays special attention to this incident, said Deputy PM Dung while chairing a working session with Ha Tinh provincial leaders same day.

He said that competent agencies were perplexed in identifying the causes and in overcoming the consequences due to the lack of experience and environmental control at production facilities.

He tasked the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to take prime responsibility and coordinate with relevant agencies to identify the reasons in a "cautious and fast manner".

If organizations, enterprises or individuals are found guilty, strict punishments will be applied without exceptions, he said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was asked to propose solutions to assist farmers to restore production.

Relevant ministries and agencies could coordinate with foreign experts and institutions to seek the causes, Deputy PM Dung suggested.

The Deputy PM also requested relevant provinces to submit full and precise damages and timely provide assistance for farmers to stabilize life.

Enterprises, organizations and individuals must also coordinate closely with competent agencies and local authorities in investigations, he demanded.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam, the Ministry has dispatched a delegation to the localities on April 7 to take samples and supervise the sudden phenomenon.

The samples are being analyzed and outcomes would be released within the next three to five days, he added.

Viet Nam has a long coastline which provides livelihood to thousands of coastal dwellers.

In the first quarter this year, the country earned US$1.47 billion from aquaculture exports, up 7.4% against the same period last year. The total figure in 2015 was estimated at US$6.7 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 14.5%.


related news

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Fish die en masse along coast in central Vietnam 

 

Dtinews/VGP