Dead fish in Vung Ang Beach in Ha Tinh Province
The warning was included in their latest report announced at a meeting with representatives from the ministries of Natural Resources and Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development and media agencies this morning, September 20.
Deputy Minister of Health, Nguyen Thanh Long speaking at the meeting to report on the quality of fish caught from the central provinces on September 20
According to the report, which is contributed by a team of experts and scientists through their analysis of over 1,000 samples of seafood taken at aquatic farms and in waters off the central region on a daily basis, it is not safe now to eat seafood that live at the seabed and within 13.5 nautical miles off the coast of the four affected provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue.
The health ministry also warned the public not to eat raw fish caught within 20 nautical miles.
132 out of 1,040 samples taken at the seabed in the area tested positive for phenol which is a toxic chemical, the report said.
Meanwhile all the samples were found to be free from other toxic chemicals, including cyanide, chromium and asenapine, so it is now safe to eat fish caught from mid-water or from aquatic farms.
It seems that this much-awaited report has not pleased the public who said they expected a clearer conclusion on the safety of seafood. Many said that it would be very difficult for people to know exactly which fish sold in markets were caught from safe regions amid the lax management and control.
In late August, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment also sent out a report which said that marine life, including sea water and sea-bed sediment, was generally within Vietnamese safety standards for aquaculture farming, fishing, and tourism activities.
Mass fish deaths were reported along the coast of the central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue in April.
In late June, Formosa Ha Tinh accepted responsibility for the incident. The pollution damaged about 400 hectares of coral and affected over 260,000 people who earn their living in sea-related activities.
The company pledged to provide 11.5 trillion VND (500 million USD) in compensation, which will be used to support local fishermen and help restore the polluted maritime environment. It also vowed to deal with shortcomings in waste and wastewater treatment.
