VietNamNet Bridge – Until recently, life was not too difficult for residents of Suoi Cam Hamlet.

Half of its residents lived off the sea, and they only had to venture a few hundred metres off the coast to earn between VND200,000 and VND500,000 dong (US$9.7-24) for a night's fishing.

The Thuy Trieu Lagoon offered fish, shrimp and other aquatic creatures in abundance, recalled Nguyen Kha Trong, head of the hamlet.

The somewhat idyllic life changed in 2000, and residents are unanimous in blaming the Cam Ranh Sugar Plant for polluting lagoon, the Sai Gon Giai Phong reports.

Thuy Trieu, a coastal lagoon in Cam Ranh Bay, belongs to Cam Lam District and Cam Ranh City in central coastal Khanh Hoa Province.

Trong told the newspaper, "It was easy for them (residents of the hamlet) to earn their living before 2000. Now people have to make work a lot more to make their living because of the decline of shrimp and fish in the lagoon.

"The lagoon environment has become more and more muddy, it stinks badly, and the ecosystem has been deformed, causing a decline in aquatic products."

Shrimp, fish, snails and even the "long-living" peanut worm (sipuncula), have died in large numbers, he said.

Last April, the fish breeders in the area claimed they were badly affected by large-scale deaths of their shrimp and fish.

It was almost harvest time Le Van Dong (Cam Thanh Bac Commune, Cam Lam District) pumped seawater into his breeding pond, and in just two days, three tonnes of ca bong mu (white bass) died. He lost a billion dong.

Dong said his fish died because the seawater has been polluted by wastewater discharged by the Cam Ranh Sugar Plant.

"The northeast monsoon was strong this year, blowing the wastewater nearer to the bank," he said.

Similarly, 3,000sq.m of rong sun (gracilaria - a type of seaweed) belonging to Vo Ngoc Hanh, died completely, costing him VND35 million,

Residents said the mass deaths of fish and other marine life at Thuy Trieu lagoon began when Cam Ranh Sugar Plant started operations.

The plant, which has a processing capacity of 6,000 tonnes of sugarcane a day, discharges untreated or insufficiently treated wastewater in the sea, they said.

Nguyen Huu Hao, deputy chairman of Cam Lam District, said 73 families in the district with 31ha of breeding area in the lagoon have so far lost around VND4 billion ($194) because of the pollution caused by the plant.

According to an investigation by the province's Department of Natural Resources and Environment, pollutants in the plant's smoke and wastewater exceeded the acceptable levels by 5-10 times.

The Khanh Hoa People's Committee has fined the plant twice, with the fines totaling VND165 million ($8,000).

It has instructed concerned agencies to determine the effect of the plant's discharge of wastewater, so that farmers engaged in aquaculture can claim damages.

However, these departments are yet to report on their work or draw conclusions about the damage, prolonging the pollution as well as the suffering of residents.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News