Since Da Nang began organising the sale of clean fish in the wake of the recent spate of mass fish deaths, the purchase of seafood has increased again. 

Between 3am and 6am on Wednesday, 36 fishing boats docked at the city’s Tho Quang fishing wharf after their fishing trips to the Hoang Sa waters.  Each boat landed between 5 and 20 tonnes of seafood. 

In particular, fishing vessel QB 92222 landed 16 tons of seafood, QB 93909 had 10 tons, and Captain Tran Viet Hung’s fishing boat from Quang Ngai Province had 20 tons.

A happy fisherman

Fisherman Nguyen Kim from fishing boat QNg 94497 said, “I and the other 13 crew members have been fishing in the Hoang Sa fishing grounds since mid-April.  Our 22-day trip produced 10 tonnes of seafood, including 8 tonnes of tuna fish.  All our products were bought by the Hai Nhi Cooperative and local small traders”.

Captain Tran Hoang Thanh of fishing vessel DNa 90569 emphasised, “I was really worried about selling the seafood after hearing about the mysterious mass fish deaths along some of the beaches in central provinces.  However, I am now very happy because I sold all of the 8 tonnes of fish we caught, and my crew members were paid 5 million VND each”.

Next to the busy Tho Quang fishing wharf, the Tho Quang seafood wholesale market was also experiencing bustling trade yesterday. 

Ms Nguyen Thi Bay, a small trader at the Hoa Cuong wholesale market, said “Thanks to the great efforts of the local authorities to reassure residents about clean fish, the locals are going back to consuming seafood”.

Another small trader is Ms Truong Thi Chau in Son Tra District’s An Hai Dong market.  She said, “Due to the impact of the mass fish deaths, I had to have 10 days off from selling.  Today, I have 40 kilos of scad and tuna fish for sale.  If the fish are sold out today, I will buy more tomorrow and encourage other small traders to return to work”.