Thousands of farmed fish and other species escaped into the sea after strong winds and heavy waves damaged marine cages in Phu Quy Special Zone in Vietnam’s Lam Dong province, causing losses of more than 5.6 billion dong (about USD 220,000), local authorities said on Nov. 29.
An initial assessment showed 16 aquaculture households were affected after Storm No. 15 struck on Thursday, tearing open net pens across several farming sites.
About 3,230 grouper, 1,330 cobia, 100 green lobsters and roughly 500 kg of snails were swept away, according to the zone authority. All belonged to privately run farms.
Officials have urged people not to dive for or collect escaped stock in damaged farming areas stretching from Lach Du to Bai Phu in Trieu Duong and Phu Long hamlets, warning that unauthorized harvesting could face enforcement actions.
The Phu Quy Border Guard Station, together with the fisheries surveillance unit, local police and farm owners, has increased patrols to deter and respond to illegal harvesting, the authority said.
VFM
