Da Nang’s Tho Quang Wharf is now home to over 20 seafood processing businesses and a seafood wholesale market. 

Over recent years, some of these businesses have been illegally discharging their untreated effluent into the nearby environment, which has caused severe environmental pollution at the wharf.  Since 2012, local relevant agencies have detected and handled 20 environmental violations. 

Severe environmental pollution near the wharf

The wharf has also been very busy with fishing boats, from the city and other central coastal localities, preparing to head out to sea or returning to the mainland, and their crew members often leave litter at the site.

To make the problem worse, the operation of some ice-making establishments and shipyards nearby have also been adversely affecting the environment at the wharf.

At a meeting on Wednesday, municipal People’s Committee Chairman Huynh Duc Tho asked the city’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to increase their monitoring of fishing boats anchored at the wharf.  Stricter penalties will be imposed on crew members found causing environmental pollution, and their boats might be banned from anchoring at the wharf.  Also, fees are to be charged for fishing boats docking at the wharf. 

The seafood processing businesses are being required to build their own wastewater treatment systems to reduce the capacity overload at the wharf’s dedicated treatment plant.

The city leader also urged the city’s Environmental Protection Agency under the Department to increase its checks over the quality of treated effluent from these businesses in order to detect and deal with any violations.

With regard to the seafood wholesale market at the wharf, stronger measures will be taken to try to deal with the unpleasant odours there.