VietNamNet Bridge - More than 100 households in the coastal town of Lang Co in Phu Loc district in Thua Thien – Hue province raise white-leg shrimp illegally, causing serious pollution to one of the most beautiful bays in the world.

Hoang Trong and his family members in Loan Ly residential quarter in Lang Co Town have been farming white-leg shrimp on the 1,500 sq meter pond located in Lap An Lagoon for the last three years.

Trong said that after failed efforts to ask for local authorities’ permission for shrimp farming, he decided to farm shrimp illegally, because he doesn’t have other jobs to earn his living.

In Loan Ly, like many other residential quarters in the coastal town of Lang Co, illegal shrimp farming has been carried out on a large scale. More and more shrimp ponds have arisen next to Lap An Lagoon, or in residential quarters.

Under Decision No 72 released by the Thua Thien – Hue provincial People’s Committee in 2014, the white-leg shrimp farming in the Tam Giang – Cau Hai Lagoon area must meet strict requirements to be licensed.

More than 100 households in the coastal town of Lang Co in Phu Loc district in Thua Thien – Hue province raise white-leg shrimp illegally, causing serious pollution to one of the most beautiful bays in the world.

Shrimp farming establishments must be located in the programmed areas. People must have ponds with the minimum area of 3,000 square meters and the depth of 2 meters. 

There must be deposit tanks to clean the water before the water is provided to shrimp ponds. And there must be systems which treat waste water from shrimp ponds before the water is discharged into the environment.

People who can satisfy all the requirements must register their farm with the local authorities and obtain licenses.

However, though unable to meet the requirements, many households have rushed to farm shrimp, ignoring warnings about pollution and possible losses.

The massive farming has seriously polluted the Lap An Lagoon, thus affecting the water environment of Lang Co – one of the world’s most beautiful bays, located between Da Nang and Hue Cities in the central coast. 

As most of the shrimp ponds are not equipped with waste water treatment systems, the waste water has been going directly into the lagoon.

As the environment has bern polluted, shrimp disrase epidemics have broken out, causing major losses for farmers. 

According to Duong Dang Trung, chair of Lang Co Town, there are 106 shrimp farming households on a total area of 35 hectares in the locality and all of them farm illegally.

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