Seafood traders still count cost of Formosa disaster

Dozens of traders in Ha Tinh Province are facing huge losses as hundreds of tonnes of jellyfish cannot be sold due to the mass fish deaths caused by the Formosa pollution incident.

Rotten seafood after Formosa incident

Tuyet Anh, the owner of a frozen seafood shop in Loc Ha District, said her family was storing about 14 tonnes of rotten jellyfish and 78 tonnes of other expired seafood. She had no idea how to destroy and deal with the expired food.

"Jellyfish is only good for three months in stock but it has been a year since the disaster. The jellyfish has gone rotten and it's difficult to destroy them now. We hope the authorities will support us," she said.

Le Huy, owner of Huy Loc Seafood Processing, is also storing nearly 50 tonnes of rotten jellyfish. "We bought the jellyfish last April for the tourism season. But when the Formosa disaster happened, we couldn't sell the jellyfish."

Huy said he didn't know how to destroy the jellyfish and feared that he might pollute the environment if the method is not correct. He also hoped to receive support from the authorities.

Traders facing huge losses

The residents living nearby are also dealing with foul odour. "In recent months, our lives have been turned upside down. The rotten jellyfish exude an unpleasant smell and it makes us very upset," said Nguyen Thi Hoa.

Ha Tinh Province has some 839 tonnes of unsellable jellyfish. It would cost an estimated VND42bn (USD1.8m) to destroy the whole inventory. However, the jellyfish is not included in the categories covered by government support.

Ha Minh Tan, chairman of Thach Kim Commune, said, "Our commune has 70 tonnes of jellyfish at 13 facilities. Jellyfish, fish sauce and dried fish and salted shredded meat aren’t covered by the government compensation. We have reported to the district and provincial authorities and are waiting for feedback."

Nguyen Duy Binh, chairman of Thach Bang Commune, also said that they couldn't do anything as they don't have the authority.