To avoid massive death of fish due to unplanned aquaculture, Bình Sơn People’s Committee coordinated with local authorities of Bình Đông, Bình Thuận communes to remove cages for termination of cobia in Dung Quất Economic Zone on April 23.
Bình Sơn People’s Committee gets eight billion dong from local budget to support 86 households in Bình Thuận, Bình Đông and Binh Thạnh communes involved in fish cage uninstallation in Dung Quất Economic Zone. Accordingly, Bình Đông received 3.6 billion dong and Bình Thuận 730 million dong. Bình Sơn People’s Committee requires households to uninstall their cages to terminate fish farming by April 30.
Fish farming on cages in Dung Quất coastal area of Sơn Trà village, Bình Đông commune, Bình Sơn district, Quảng Ngãi province has brought much profit to local farmers since 2014. However, such practice was not a plan of aquaculture of the province.
In 2017, People’s Committee of Quảng Ngãi province and Bình Sơn district instructed communes to advise households to terminate cage aquaculture in Sơn Trà village of Bình Đông commune.
However, there were total 86 households in Bình Đông (46 households), Bình Thạnh (35 households) and Bình Thuận (5 households) involved in fish farming in 916 cages in Sơn Trà sea. Massive death of cobia in cages happened in May 2017 in this area.
Aknowledge that such practice has been spontaneous and unplanned, Bình Sơn district People’s Commitee required Bình Đông People’s Commitee and local authorities to inform farmers of cage uninstallation in June 2017.
However, due to high investment into cages while there has not been any planned area for gathering the uninstalled cages and continuing aquaculture, farmers are facing difficulties to find new job. They have kept investing into fish farming since 2017.
On 08-09 October 2018, series of cobia were found dead in cages, around 100 tons (size 1-3kg/pc), leaving damage of billion dong. Competent authorities came to take samples of water and cobia to figure out the cause. Test results were made public then. According to Regional Animal Health Office No.4, the test result showed that sample of cobia was negative to viral nervous necrosis virus and water in cages was safe for fish farming upon Dung Quất Environment Survey Technical Center.
Most of households said that spontaneous and unplanned cage aquaculture was wrong. But high investment into cages and difficulties in finding new job has urged them to recommend authorities to financially support and help them with their new lives.
Vice Chairman of Bình Đông Commune People’s Committee Nguyễn Văn Thành said his commune had 46 households involved in cage aquaculture in Dung Quất Economic Zone. Seven of them removed their cages and find new job. In 23 April, five households uninstalled their cages. The others committed the uninstallation and termination of cage aquaculture in Dung Quất Economic Zone. However, in the lead up to harvest of over 50 tons of cobia, they will conduct the removal before April 30, 2019.
VFM
