Lobster farmers in the south-central province of Phu Yen are suffering huge financial losses after their stock died in the recent floods.

 Farmers in Song Cau Town in Phu Yen Province besides their dead lobsters which were caused by the recent floods. 

According to vice head of the provincial Department of Husbandry and Animal Health, Nguyen Minh Phat, lobsters have been found dying at many farms in Song Cau Town since November 3.

"Farmers in the two villages of Hoa Loi and Hoa Thanh are most hard-hit," Phat said. "230 households in Hoa Loi Village have reported a total of 275,000 dead lobsters aged between 8-12 months. This means a loss of over VND 30 billion (USD1.4 million)."

Phat said that the situation occurred so fast that the farmers could not do anything to save their lobsters or sell them.

Initial investigations revealed that the lobster deaths were caused by changes in salinity, Phat said, adding that the situation would continue as the floods had not stopped.

"There's no way to treat the lobsters in the cages. We now can only suggest farmers to move the strong lobsters to other areas," Phat suggested.

Phu Yen is one of the largest lobster-raising areas in Vietnam besides other southern-central coastal provinces of Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh, Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan. Some 2,500 farmers are now involved in lobster-raising in the province, which have started in 2000.

 Most of the dead lobsters are between 8-12 months of age. 

A lobster farm in Phu Yen

A man with a basket of dead lobsters

Fishermen have to dive to collect dead lobsters to prevent pollution

A man buries dead lobsters

Mussels also died massively

Snails are also dead

Dtinews/VNE