QUẢNG TRỊ — Around 1,500 tonnes of frozen seafood and 450 litres of fish sauce produced locally remain unsold in the stores of Quảng Trị Province because of Formosa toxic spill.

Nguyễn Văn Huân, deputy head of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the unsold seafood was caught between March and August.

Of the 1,500 tonnes, 200 tonnes are now spoilt and will be destroyed. The Government is supporting seafood sellers by giving them 30 per cent of the product price to destroy the remaining 1,300 tonnes.

“The provincial People’s Committee has ordered that all toxic-infected seafood to be destroyed. The unsold products will be destroyed in the next two weeks,” Huân said.

So far the province has destroyed around 53 tonnes of toxic seafood. The contamination of seafood by Hưng Nghiệp Formosa Hà Tĩnh Steel Corporation’s toxic spill has affected many businesses, especially stores selling frozen products as a huge amount of money has been spent on electricity for refrigeration.

Nguyễn Văn Năng, owner of Cửa Việt Town-based Gái Năng seafood processing and business, said: “We have eight to 10 tonnes of fish unsold. I owe the bank a debt of both capital and interest.”

Nguyễn Đức Chính, Chairman of Quảng Trị Province’s People’s Committee, said sealed products that are safe for consumption would be released for public use. Fishermen will receive compensation based on Government rules if their products have been affected by the toxic spill.

Compensation for unsold fish will be handed out before Tết (Lunar New Year), which falls in the end of January, Chính said.

The first phase of compensation disbursement to farmers affected by mass fish deaths began in late October.

Quảng Trị Province has handed out around VNĐ202 billion (US$8.9 million) from the Government budget to owners of fishing boats and their employees.

Besides Quảng Trị Province, fishermen in the central provinces of Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình and Thừa Thiên-Huế were also hit by mass fish deaths following the Formosa toxic sea spill. — VNS