Phu Yen’s provincial authorities’ claim that mass lobster deaths were caused by a sudden weather change has been rejected by local farmers who are blaming a company for releasing polluted water into the environment.

A farmer besides dead lobsters at his farm in Song Cau Town, Phu Yen Province on May 26

Chairman of Song Cau Town People's Committee, Pham Kien, told Dan Viet Newspaper on Monday that they were investigating the accusations by the farmers.

On May 27, hundreds of farmers gathered at the Nguyen Hung Seafood Processing Company in Xuan Phuong Commune to ask for the company's explanation about their waste water discharge which they claimed was the reason for the mass lobster deaths. 

The company refused to talk with the farmers. 

A representative of the Nguyen Hung Company then told local media that their wastewater treatment system had a capacity of 80 cubic metres a day but was now only dealing with 12-40 cubic metres daily. 

All their waste water is well-treated before being released into their pond.

"We’re now using the water in this pond for watering trees and cleaning equipment so we have nothing to release into the environment," the company's director, Nguyen Hung Hoa said.

The wastewater treatment system at Nguyen Hung Company in Xuan Phuong Commune, Phu Yen Province.

Hoa, however, added that their wastewater treatment system has been upgraded over the past two months so they are transporting the water to another plant in Xuan Canh Commune for treatment. And they hadn't reported this to the local authorities.

“This is only a temporarily solution," Hoa said.

"But we’ll co-operate with local authorities in their investigation into the cause of the lobster deaths and will pay a fine if it is our fault”.

A report from the Song Cau Town People's Committee said that 523,970 lobsters which were ready to be sold died over the past 10 days. 

The provincial department of agriculture and rural development said that the lobster deaths were caused by a sudden change in the weather and the water pollution caused by overly dense farms.  

dtinews