Chinese fish farmers use unclear feeds and breeders
Chinese fish farmers use unclear feeds and breeders
The Chinese fish farmers disguised as aquaculture experts in Cam Ranh Bay in the coastal province of Khanh Hoa have been using feeds and breeders allegedly imported from China of dubious origins and quality, provincial agricultural inspectorate said Thursday.
Deputy Head of the inspectorate Le Van Dung said his institution raided fish cages in the waters of Cam Ranh Bay, following a Tuoi Tre news report that roughly 10 Chinese nationals have been raising lobsters and groupers there without licenses.
Authorities said the Chinese work as aquaculture experts, but local residents have confirmed that they have in fact been raising the fish and shipping them back to China over the last ten years.
Following the inspection, officers found three Chinese men on a large-scale fish cage, raising mostly groupers. Though the cage is registered under the name of a man based in Ho Chi Minh City, the three Chinese men are the representatives, while there are four Vietnamese hired to work there.
“The fish cage has breached certain aquaculture regulations,” said Dung.
“First, they used feeds whose labels are only in Chinese, while it’s stipulated that imported products must have sub-labels with Vietnamese content.
“Next, those with the fish cage failed to present documentation certified by Vietnamese authorities on the origin and quarantine of the groupers they are farming,” he continued.
Dung told Tuoi Tre that it is dangerous for imported feed and breeders to be used without undergoing any quarantine time or tests as they can spread certain diseases to other creatures raised in the waters.
He added that the inspectors also found some dead groupers in the fish cage.
“The inspectorate is completing procedures to impose penalties on the Chinese fish cage farmers,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Tran Son Hai, standing deputy chairman of the Khanh Hoa’s People’s Committee, yesterday sent an urgent document requesting the people’s committee of Cam Ranh City to inspect and report on the Chinese fish farmers in the city’s Cam Ranh Bay.
“Tuoi Tre Newspaper has reported that Chinese farmers have been raising and exporting fish in Cam Ranh Bay for years with impunity from local authorities’ management,” the document read.
“It’s ordered that the city’s government complete an inspection and report the case by June 8."
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