VietNamNet Bridge - About 2,000 tons of seafood products remain unsold in Quang Binh province because of recent incidents that sullied the environment. 

Quang Binh and other central province authorities are not sure how to resolve the problem.  A  senior official of Quang Binh province said departments were discussing possible solutions.

They are considering giving interest rate support in case the products are safe and can be sold. If not, the products will rot.

“No matter what solution is applied, we will have to pay for it. We are still considering reports to plan different measures,” he said.

Cong An Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh newspaper reported that the Quang Tri authorities have approved the destruction of 60 tons of seafood in stock, collected at the time when the sea environmental incident occurred, which led to mass fish deaths in April and May 2016.

About 2,000 tons of seafood products remain unsold in Quang Binh province because of recent incidents that sullied the environment.

It is estimated that the destruction would cost VND100 million. The fish will be dumped and treated with chemicals. Of the 60 tons of fish to be destroyed, 20 tons of fish are infected with phenol. The other 40 tons will be disposed as they cannot be sold. 

Enterprises expect to receive VND25,000 for every kilo of destroyed seafood from local authorities.

In mid-June, the Quang Tri provincial Healthcare Department and relevant agencies, when examining frozen seafood stocks in Vinh Linh district, discovered phenol in products at Dung Thuoc Storehouse and other establishments at the concentration of 0.037 mg per kilo.

The substance is toxic and cannot be used in food; it is mostly used in fabric dyeing. 

On August 22, the Environment Technology Institute held a conference releasing scientists’ reports after the mass fish death catastrophe in Quang Tri province, emphasizing that it is now more secure about sea water quality.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has also conveyed a message that people can continue fishery exploitation and cultivation off the central coast.

However, on the same day, the National Institute for Food Control sent a dispatch to the Ministry of Health, stating that many fish samples taken from Ha Tinh province were found with phenol and cyanide content higher than the permitted levels.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) on August 25 stated that the water in the central coast is safe, but this doesn’t mean the fish are safe.


TBKTSG