PM directs stockpiled seafood settlement in marine incident-hit provinces
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has directed the handling of stockpiled seafood in the four central provinces which were affected by maritime environmental incident in 2016.
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The PM promulgated decisions in September 2016 and in March 2017 stipulating the level of compensation for affected localities of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue.
Based on the report of the four provincial People’s Committees and proposals of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Health and the Government Office, the PM agreed to support 100% of the value of stockpiled jellyfish products and 30% for other aquatic products.
The maximum volume of stockpiled seafood in the four central provinces is 5,453 tonnes worth VND242.6 billion (US$10.7 million), including 2,708 tonnes in Ha Tinh (VND150.2 billion), 1,101 tonnes in Quang Binh (VND48.5 billion), 1,501 tonnes in Quang Tri (VND42.7 billion), and 143.1 tonnes in Thua Thien-Hue (VND1.2 billion).
The PM also agreed to provide maximum financial assistance of VND341.3 billion (US$15.1 million), including VND121.8 billion for Ha Tinh to support 4,244 labourers in coastal areas and 2,954 employers and employees at fishing logistics services facilities; VND214.4 billion to support 15,022 labourers involving in processing seafood and fishing logistics services; VND320 million for Quang Tri to support the aquatic breeding centre; and VND4.73 billion for Thua Thien-Hue.
The compensation must be conducted in a public and transparent manner, he stressed.
The mass fish deaths were first reported on April 6, 2016 when a large number of fish washed ashore in Ha Tinh province. The incident also occurred in Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue.
In late June 2016, China’s Taiwan-invested Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Limited Company admitted responsibility for the environmental incident, paying VND11.5 trillion (US$500 million) in compensation.
