Mysterious fish death spells doom for tourism

Nhat Le beach - photo source internet

According to Pham Ha, co-founder of Emperor Cruises, this problem will severely affect the number of tourists coming to the central area this summer.

“I have a friend in Quang Binh province. He has just told me that there have been no guests on Nhat Le beach for the the last 10 days, even though it is one of the most beautiful beaches in Vietnam,” Ha told VIR. “If this problem persists, tourism in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Trị, and Thua Thien–Hue provinces will bear the consequences.”

Ha suggested that tourists go further to Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa, where the beach is not affected.

Since early April, thousands of succumbed fish were found floating in the coastal areas of the central provinces. Vo Huu Duat, a local fish farmer from Ky An town in Ha Tinh, said that his 500 kilogrammes of fish died. “I was not able to save a single one of them,” he said.

Another fish farmer, Nguyen Thai Thao, shared that over 4,000kg of her fish started dying on April 21 following a rising tide. “We will suffer heavy losses if we keep our operations under these circumstances,” Thao commented.

According to the report from the local departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, the mass dying of fishstock was caused by polluted seawater, the phosphate content and pH level of which were both higher than permitted.

The central part of Vietnam, including Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien–Hue, is famous for its beautiful beaches, such as Nhat Le, Gia Dang, Cua Tung, and Cua Viet. In 2015, Quang Binh and Thua Thien-Hue welcomed five and 3.1 million domestic and international tourists, respectively. That number for Quang Tri and Ha Tinh provinces was 1.6 million each.

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