Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Quang Tri (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has instructed authorities of the central costal province of Quang Tri to offer immediate assistance to local poor fishermen who were hard hit by mass fish deaths.
The Deputy PM, accompanied by provincial officials, toured the Cua Tung fish port and several localities in the province to survey the damage caused by the incident to local people.
Calling at several restaurants in the Cua Viet tourism site and Gio Hai beach, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Van Hung requested local health workers to take samples of fish in the restaurants for testing to determine whether the fish meet standards of food safety.
According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, unusual fish deaths began in Quang Tri on April 16.
According to initial statistics from coastal localities across the province, it is estimated that around 34.5 tonnes of dead fish have been found in Quang Tri over the last two weeks. All local fishermen and fish traders had to stop their fishing and seafood trading activities, with around 2,290 fishing boats grounded.
The provincial People’s Committee has decided to allocate 300 tonnes of rice to affected families. It also asked the Government to provide 600 tonnes of rice from the national reserve to support the locality.
Tests of coastal seawater in Quang Tri conducted by the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment on April 20 and April 27 showed that seawater quality indices have been within the acceptable levels./.
