VietNamNet Bridge – Dozens of fishermen in Long Son commune in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province on Thursday morning placed their dead fish in front of the gates of factories and on the highway to express their protest. 


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People carry dead fish to Highway 51. 


According to local officials, tens of households that breed caged fish on the river of Cha Va in Long Son commune of Vung Tau City, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province suffered heavy losses as the fish died en masse in recent days.

They carried dead fish to seafood processing enterprises in Tan Hai commune, Tan Thanh district to protest against pollution as they believed the factories discharged waste water into Cha Va River, causing fish deaths.

On the morning of October 13, 25 people placed dead fish on Highway 51 and blocked the road, causing traffic jams for several kilometers.

According to fishermen, fish in their cages died in the last few days, mainly pomfret and cobia which were about to be big enough for sale. The local authorities estimated about 10 tons of fish died on October 12 alone. 

The local agencies collected water and fish samples for testing to identify the cause.

Bui Duc Binh, Vice Chairman of Long Son commune, said since 2015, this was the 6th time fishermen in Long Son suffered from massive fish deaths. Fish breeders suspected that seafood processing firms took advantage of heavy rains to discharge waste water into the Cha Va River.

Earlier, as reported by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ba Ria - Vung Tau, in August 2016 caged fish of 23 households on the river of Cha Va died en masse, totaling nearly 92,000 fish with weights from 0.3 kg to 7 kg/head. 



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The cause was identified as prolonged rains, as the amount of oxygen dissolved in water fell and killed fish.

The most serious case occurred in September 2015, with total losses of VND18 billion ($900,000) for 33 households. The cause waspollution in the river by waste water discharged by seafood processing firms in Tan Hai commune. 

Fish breeders sued the firms for compensation. However, only two of the companies have compensated the famers for part of the losses.

The local authorities are working closely with government agencies to identify the cause of the recent mass death of farm-raised fish in Long Son Commune.

Speaking at the meeting with affected farmers on Thursday, Nguyen Thanh Tinh, vice-chairman of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, pledged that authorities would try to resolve the issue.

Huynh Van Them, deputy head of the province’s Veterinary Department, said the fish might have been killed because of a lack of oxygen caused by recent torrential rains.

One farmer disagreed, saying wastewater discharged by the local seafood processing factories was the “chief cause”.

The fish started dying after wastewater was discharged into the Cha Va River, according to the farmers.

Nguyen Van Hong, deputy manager of the Irrigation Work Division under the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said: “The wastewater was discharged in accordance with procedures, which helps prevent flooding at nearby paddy fields.”

Pham Văn Mạnh, deputy director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said that a total of six factories were discharging wastewater during  operations and that the volume of liquid waste was low.

However, farmer Nguyen Cong Bien, who suffered the heaviest loss, disagreed, saying that he could name five more businesses that had also discharged wastewater into Cha Va river.

Nguyen Thanh Tinh, vice-chairman of the province, pledged to inspect the local factories’ operations more closely.

Tinh also agreed to let local farmers take part in the monitoring process with the authority and promised to help farmers extend and postpone their loan payments to banks.

Compiled by Le Ha