Fishermen in Ha Tinh Province have started receiving the compensation for the mass fish deaths in the central region caused by Taiwanese Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation.
Statistics show that as of October 9, nearly 7,000 boats, 2,260 hectares of lakes, 31,700 cubic metres of farmed fish, 127 hectares of salt and 47,960 people are affected by the disaster. About 1,800 tonnes of aqua products remain stockpiled. Direct damage in the province is estimated at USD85m.
On October 30, authorities of Loc Ha District distributed over USD9.3m in compensation to fishermen. The first compensation came to 15 boat owners and 15 workers in Quang Trung Village on the same day.
Le Dinh Son, party secretary of Ha Tinh Province and Dang Ngoc Son, vice chairman of Ha Tinh supervised the process and gave encouragement to the locals.
Le Dinh Son, party secretary of Ha Tinh Province, supervises the process
"The money should be spent wisely. I hope everyone will quickly overcome this challenge to return to their livelihoods at sea. The list of benefactors have been checked carefully and the process must be carried out smoothly," Le Dinh Son said.
On October 31, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh visited and supervised the process. He also asked leaders of ministries and agencies to review the list of benefactors to ensure that they didn't miss anyone.
From October 21 to 26, USD1.8m of compensation from Formosa was distributed to the fishermen in Thua Thien-Hue Province.
On June 30, Formosa admitted responsibility for the mass fish deaths in four central coastal provinces. Formosa committed to a compensation of USD500m and that it would address the environmental impact of the pollution.