Fish-farms told to certify employees

PHU YEEN — The central province of Phu Yen will properly sanction any individual who authorises foreigners to work unlawfully in fish-rearing enterprises in the Vung Ro Bay, says the chairman of the provincial People's Committee, Pham Dinh Cu.

The Phu Yen People's Committee has launched inspections of all fish-rearing enterprises in the province to stamp out any unlawful operations, Cu said, noting that he had assigned the People's Committee office to investigate the case of two Chinese who were working in a fishing enterprise in Vung Ro Bay.

"If their employment is contrary to Vietnamese law, they must be deported" Cu ordered.

Cu blamed himself for negligence in monitoring illegal fishery activities in the bay since 2007.

"The operation of fisheries in the Vung Ro Bay has had negative impacts on security and the environment," Cu said.

He conceded that the People's Committee had been weak in its administrative oversight over the employment of foreigners by fisheries in the bay, along with other relevant agencies, including the logistics office of the provincial military headquarters, the Vung Ro Border Guard, and the Phu Yen departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, Natural Resources and Environment, the Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and Planning and Investment. — VNS