HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) has set up a hotline to help fishermen in the coastal central provinces sell fish caught offshore.

The move also aims to eliminate problems for fishermen who suffered losses due to massive fish deaths along beaches in the region over the past weeks, following the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng after his working visits to Quảng Bình and Hã Tĩnh this weekend.

The hotline numbers are 0979815668 (Hoàng Anh Tuấn, deputy head of MIT’s Domestic Market Department), 0906725555 (Dương Thái Trung, head of Trade Division of Agriculture, Food, Consumer products under MIT’s Domestic Market Department) and 04-2220539 (Trade Division of Agriculture, Food, Consumer products under MIT’s Domestic Market Department).

At the working session yesterday with local authorities from central Hà Tĩnh Province, the Deputy PM affirmed that stabilising the lives of fishermen along coastal areas from Hà Tĩnh to Thừa Thiên-Huế provinces is an urgent task.

Further, he asked the ministers of Agriculture and Rural Development, Health, Science and Technology, Natural Resources and Environment, and Industry and Trade, along with the head of the State Bank of Việt Nam, to immediately set up permanent working groups in Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên – Huế provinces. These working groups will collaborate with chairmen of the people’s committees of these provinces to deal with issues that may arise in assisting fishermen.

The Ministry of Science and Technology is responsible for working with agencies to determine the cause of fish deaths, with assistance from foreign experts, the Government official said.

The Ministry of Health has been assigned to be the lead agency to identify whether poisons were found inside dead fish, as well as any possible effects on human health. 

Also, the State Bank of Việt Nam is responsible for directing commercial banks to devise plans to extend the duration of repayments and develop policies to decrease debt and assist fishermen who suffered losses, Dũng said.

At a meeting yesterday afternoon with agencies looking into the causes of the fish deaths, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Trần Hồng Hà ordered daily sea water sample testing at beaches from Hà Tĩnh Province to Đà Nẵng City to make sure the water is safe for swimming and other tourism activities.

In a related report, beginning yesterday staff dispatched by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quảng Bình Province have been on duty round the clock at local fishing ports or markets to check and issue certificates of safety, hygiene and identify the origins of fish caught offshore. — VNS