Authorities from the Vung Tau province may shutter 18 area factories that local fishers and protestors have alleged are behind the deaths of large numbers of fish.
According to local fish farmers, waste water from factories along the Cha Va river has been killing their stocks en masse, reports Vietnam Net. As a means to address the perceived pollution problem, tens of farmers convened in Vung Tau City on 30 September with several kilos of dead fish, presenting the containers to the provincial committee’s head office.
Nguyen Thanh Tinh, deputy chair of Ba Ria, met with the farmers and noted that several factors could be contributing to the fish deaths, including pollution as well as high densities of fish in cages. “We are collecting legal evidence to follow necessary procedures to stop the factories’ operation. However, we cannot force them to stop operation immediately. We have to follow necessary procedures,” Thanh Tinh told Vietnam Net.
A response from local authorities regarding their plans for the factories is expected this week, according Dang Minh Thong, chief secretariat of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau provincial People’s Committee.
Those running the factories in question are concerned about the prospect of having to shut down their operations.
Nguyen Thanh Loc, the owner of Long Son seafood processing workshop, assured Vietnam Net that his workshop employed a closed wastewater treatment system, and thus was not responsible for discharging waste into the environment. Long Son employs approximately 200 people at the site.
Tran Nhan, deputy director of Dong Hai, a private seafood processing enterprise, similarly vied to Vietnam Net that his factory does not discharge waste water, either. “The provincial people’s committee told us to shut down factories and shift to other businesses. But we don’t know what to do,” Nhan concluded.
