September 14, 2012
Vietnam's aquaculture farms to close by October 2013
By October 2013, hundreds of aquaculture farms operating in Vung Ro must shut down.
The Phu Yen Province People's Committee has said that the south-central province has asked the local Agriculture and Rural Development Department to release guidelines confirming that aquafarming businesses, including those run by non-Vietnamese, will no longer be allowed in the area. Existing farms will receive no compensation following their closure.
Vung Ro, located in Dong Hoa District, Phu Yen Province, has ambitious plans to construct a deep-water port and develop the petro-chemical industry there.
According to the Viet Nam Port System's plan the Vung Ro complex, which they plan to operate from 2015, will be designed to receive large vessels with a capacity of up to 250,000 DWT (dead-weight tonnage). The port will serve the Vung Ro Oil Refinery Plant.
When the development plans were approved by the Prime Minister in 2005, there were 860 aqua farms in the area, according to the provincial People's Committee.
The committee has admitted that these farms were never cleared due to poor management by local authorities, and many of them have developed since then.
