Couple discharge unknown waste allegedly causing clam deaths

THANH HÓA – Local farmers have blamed wastewater discharged into the sea by a couple recently for the mass clam deaths in central Thanh Hóa Province’s Hải Lộc Commune.

The couple, Hoàng Văn Thành and Hoàng Thị Huệ, were caught red-handed while sailing a vessel discharging unknown liquid into the sea last Saturday.

After the action was reported, local police conducted a quick inspection and found 14 plastic barrels with a volume of some 50 litres each. They took samples of the liquid for tests and the barrels were sealed for investigation.

The couple admitted that they worked for a seafood processing business in Hậu Lộc District’s Ngư Lộc Commune. They were hired to discharge the liquid into the sea every three days.

Tens of households in Hải Lộc Commune have seen a large number of their clams die since then. 

Nguyễn Văn Tự, 60, a farmer in Hải Lộc Commune’s Tân Lộc Village, said all 60 tonnes of clams on his farm, which were about to be harvested, and 50 tonnes of clam seed, had died.

The mass deaths resulted in a loss of VNĐ1 billion (US$43,990) and left him in debt.

Tự and other households in the commune collected the dead clams to determine the cause of the deaths but failed to arrive at a conclusion. 

Initial information from the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development showed that some 400 tonnes of clams were wiped out from a 40ha area.

Local farmers said they hoped the test results would identify the cause and they would receive compensation to ease their debt.  – VNS