Da Nang’s fisheries sector has now bounced back and recorded many positive results in the year since the central region was hit by industrial pollution which caused mass fish deaths.

Local fishermen busy loading supplies before heading out to sea

In late April 2016, an underwater wastewater pipeline from a steelworks in Ha Tinh Province’s Vung Ang Economic Zone, belonging to a subsidiary of Taiwanese conglomerate Formosa, caused the mass fish deaths along some of the beaches in the central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue.  However, in Da Nang, this environmental catastrophe, at that time, also triggered fears amongst local residents that the city’s inshore waters could also have been contaminated.  Many local fishermen decided to change their livelihoods. 

In an attempt to handle these matters, the local authorities have provided numerous support polices for local fishermen and seafood traders whose livelihoods have been considerably affected by the mass fish deaths, and encouraged local residents to go back to consuming seafood.

The focus was on conducting their checks on the origin of seafood transported from other localities to the city’s markets, taking seawater samples from some local beaches for testing, and testing seafood samples taken from frozen seafood storehouses in a bid to ensure safe seafood supplies for local consumers. 

Also, relevant local agencies organised the sale of clean fish in order to promote the local consumption of seafood.  Information about local beaches free of toxic chemicals was also widely publicised in the mass media. 

Most notably, some local fishermen have now benefited from the municipal authorities-issued Decree No 47 regarding fisheries development policies which allows fishermen to access loans for building new boats, and the national government-approved Decree No 48 on giving financial aid for Vietnamese vessels to cover the fuel costs for their trips.

Fisherman Dao Ngoc Minh Tam said that, in the wake of the mass fish deaths last year, he and other local fishermen are still conducting offshore fishing trips to Viet Nam’s territorial waters. 

Mr Tam’s 17 billion VND steel-hulled boat was built under Government Decree No 67/2014/ND-CP regarding fisheries development which allows Vietnamese fishermen to access loans to build new boats.

These effective measures taken by the local authorities have helped residents feel more secure about the quality of local seafood, and created extra motivation for local fishermen to continue their offshore fishing and combine this with protecting the national sovereignty over its sea and islands.

The Vice Director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Nguyen Do Tam, remarked that, despite the negative impacts of the spate of mass fish deaths, the fisheries sectors in the districts of Son Tra and Thanh Khe have maintained stable growth. 

Last year, Son Tra District’s total catch was valued at over 909.26 billion VND, fulfilling 97% the year’s target set by the district.  In Thanh Khe District, the total sea seafood output reached 6,850 tonnes valued at 385 billion VND, exceeding the year’s target by 11.5%. 

Furthermore, many local businesses involved in trading and processing seafood for export have recorded stable growth.

Next to the busy Tho Quang fishing wharf, the Tho Quang seafood wholesale market has also experienced bustling trade.  In late 2016, there was a hike in the prices of seafood, whilst during the recent Tet festival the prices of some types of fish on sale at local markets increased sharply.  Included were mackerel, grouper and amberjack.