In-depth
Fishermen in Ha Tinh hard hit by mass fish deaths
  • | dtinews.vn | July 08, 2016 04:12 PM
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Fishermen in the central province of Ha Tinh's Ky Anh District are facing many difficulties following the recent mass fish deaths caused by the toxic discharge from Taiwanese Formosa Group's steel plant.

Ky Phu Commune is just some 10 kilometres from where Formosa's steel plant in the Vung Ang Economic Zone discharged its toxic waste. The majority of local residents are fishermen.

 

Hundreds of fishing boats in Ky Phu Commune have been left idle along the beach

Over the past three months since the mass fish deaths, the prices of seafood products have sharply dropped, causing big losses for local fishermen. One kilo of cuttlefish is now sold at around VND80,000 compared to VND220,000 previously.



Fishing boats even watered in hot weather to avoid being cracked

Hundreds of fishing boats in Ky Phu District have been left idle along the beach. "Never before have been there so many fishing boats left unused for such a long time," said Hoang Minh Hue, Head of Ky Phu Commune's Veterans Association, said.

 

Fishermen protect their boats with canvas

"Despite being sold at very low prices, seafood demand is very modest because of safety concerns, so many local fishermen have had to force to temporarily halt their fishing activities," he added.

Initial statistics from the four provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue reported some 277 tonnes of dead fish, both washed up on the beaches and farmed fish from the sea, causing estimated economic losses totalling more than VND260 billion (USD11.5 million). In addition, at least 123,000 fishermen and locals who rely on the sea for a living or who work in the tourism industry were severely affected by the incident.

Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics have admitted liability and have offered USD500 million in compensation for the disaster.

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