Some of the southern city of Phan Thiet’s best beaches are being covered by rubbish swept to shore as the southwest monsoon season kicks off in July.
According to chairman of Mui Ne Ward People's Committee, Bui Ngoc Lam, the incident has occurred every year over the past decade but the amount of rubbish has increased in recent years.
"This year, the trash is covering some kilometres on many beaches in the Mui Ne National Tourist Site, badly affecting tourism activities in the area," Lam said.
The official said that a large amount of the rubbish was left at sea by fishing activities. Local authorities have mobilised teams to collect rubbish from the beaches several times but more would appear soon after.
"We're calling on local fishermen not to throw rubbish into the sea," he said. "We'll provide them with dustbins on their boats and arrange dumping sites at fish ports."
Owner of a restaurant in Mui Ne Fishing Village, Nguyen Thi Van, said that many visitors have complained about the pollution in the area.
"We're afraid that visitors will turn away from Mui Ne in the coming time," she said.
A representative from the Institute of Oceanography, Le Dinh Mau, said that most of the rubbish swept to the shore was household wastes.
"This is also the rainy season in Phan Thiet so lots of rubbish from neighbouring rivers are flowing with rainwater into Phan Thiet Bay," he explained. "They are then swept by the southwest monsoon and rising tides to beaches in Ham Tien-Mui Ne."
Besides raising people's awareness on environment protection, Mau proposed to build a dyke to prevent rubbish from flowing from the Phan Thiet Bay to Ham Tien-Mui Ne beaches.
