Lang Co in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, which has been recognised as one of the world's most beautiful bays by the World's Best Bay Club, is being damaged and polluted by illegal shrimp farms.
DTiNews was surprised to see so many white-leg shrimp ponds illegally operating near Lap An Lagoon which flows into Lang Co Bay, particularly in Lap An Village where many local households have been racing to dig small ponds for shrimp farming over the past six months.
Illegal shrimp farms near Lang Co Bay
A local resident said that the investment in a shrimp breeding pond covering is from VND100-200 million (USD4,761-USD9,523). However, most of the shrimp breeding farms in the area are operating without permission from local authorities.
Most of Lang Co Town's households located along Highway 1A use their gardens as shrimp farms. The waste of these farms is poured into Lap An Lagoon and then flows to Lang Co Bay.
Lax management
Tran Van Giang, Chairman of Lang Co Town People's Committee, said that the provincial people's committee had issued a decision allowing the breeding of white-legged shrimps on Tam Giang-Cau Hai Lagoon in Lang Co District last year. Under the regulation, the shrimp farms must cover at least 3.000 square metres and have to ensure waste treatment system.
However, most of the ponds are just a few hundred square metres and lack waste treatment systems. Up to nearly 100 households are operating shrimp ponds illegally in Lang Co Town.
"We fined each household VND1-2 million for the violations, but the situation has not improved. We have also told the provincial authorities and hope they’ll offer solutions," Giang said.
Giang added that "We know the untreated waste will seriously affect Lap An Lagoon and Lang Co Bay and have warned households of the possibility that their farms would be closed due to the violations. However, many of them are already suffering from losses, and we’ve also fined them VND1-2 million".