Thua Thien-Hue: aid given to fishermen affected by unusual fish death

Thua Thien-Hue (VNA) – More than 36,000 local household members and the owners of 3,080 fishing vessels, suffering losses from mass fish deaths in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, will receive support from local authorities from May 12, said Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Cao.

Financial aid will be given to the owners of inshore fishing vessels. Up to 5 million VND (224.3 USD) will be offered to fishing vessels with capacity below 90 CV, which are forced to temporarily stop going out to sea.

The province will provide 15 kilogrammes of rice per capita per month for one month and a half to members of families of the ship-owners and workers working on vessels as well as households providing fishing logistic services.

The locality requested 800 tonnes of rice from the State to support those people.

The Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee’s chapter in Thua Thien-Hue set aside 8.4 billion VND (376,766 USD) to support local fishermen, 3 billion VND (134,600 USD) of which will be delivered to households who breed fish.

Mass fish deaths in the locality from April 15-May 4 caused huge losses to local production. It is estimated that the province suffered a total loss of 135 billion VND (6.05 million USD).

From May 1, the province has granted 149 certificates of origin for local fishermen’s offshore aquatic products while setting up stores to sell fresh fish at shopping centres and markets.

Although there have been no reported mass fish deaths in the province from May 5, the province asked relevant agencies to monitor the situation in coastal areas and prepare a plan to quickly halt fishing activities within 20 nautical miles of shore.

Along with checking more water samples, the province will release water from the Thao Long dam to ensure a stable environment for fish breeding in Phu Vang district.-VNA