Aquaculture cages devastated, Van Don farmers in Quang Ninh are distraught, empty-handed after the storm

Wealth swept away by storm number 3

After the storm, we returned to Van Don - considered the "barn" of aquaculture in Quang Ninh . In particular, this place is also considered the largest area in the country in terms of oyster farming output and scale. The entire Van Don sea area is now more gloomy than ever, because more than 3,000 hectares of aquaculture of the people have been destroyed by storms and fierce waves, leaving only vast water.

HDPE plastic buoys floating everywhere after storm No. 3 were collected by Van Don residents and brought ashore. Photo: PV

It has been many days since storm No. 3 made landfall, the wind has stopped blowing, the sea has stopped being rough, but the rain is still getting heavier, just like the feelings of the people of Van Don at this time. More than 3,000 hectares of aquaculture, estimated to be worth thousands of billions of VND, were destroyed by storm No. 3. Total loss! Now, Van Don sea farmers have not only lost all their oyster and fish cage farming areas, some families have even lost their homes, but also have to shoulder a huge debt.

When we arrived at Cai Rong town, few households were home. They had all rushed out to sea, hoping to find plastic buoys, cages, etc. that had drifted away after the fierce storm.

All of the Pacific oysters, grouper, cobia, sea bass, and yellowtail fish that the locals had are gone. "There's nothing to see under the sea now," a Van Don resident exclaimed sadly.

Chairman of Cai Rong Town People's Committee Bui Van Huong led us along Zone 9, to Mr. Pham Van Duong's house, but no one was home. Mr. Bui Van Huong said that they had gone to the rafts to fix the consequences, but the water surface was white and smooth, not even the raft marks were left. Mr. Pham Van Duong's family is one of the largest aquaculture households in town with more than 100 cages. At the cheapest price, Mr. Duong's family lost about 45 billion VND.

Ms. Duong Thi Gai (residing in Zone 9, Cai Rong Town, Van Don District) not only lost everything after Storm No. 3, but also shouldered a huge debt. Photo: PV

We went to the temporary residence of Mrs. Duong Thi Gai (also known as Duong Thi Thin) in Zone 9, Cai Rong Town, Van Don District. Standing blankly by the gate, her eyes gazing out at the vast ocean, Mrs. Gai said sadly: "The cages are broken, the house is broken too. Since the day the storm hit, I haven't eaten or slept. My family has no home to live in, I'm so miserable!"

For more than 20 years of making a living at sea, Mrs. Gai has experienced all the ups and downs, but this is the first time she and the people of Van Don have been left penniless due to a natural disaster. Her eyes were red and filled with tears, and Mrs. Gai could not hold back her sobs. Her calloused hands, which had been attached to the waves all her life, could not wipe away all the tears.

"From the initial 5 fish cages, my family expanded to 10 cages, and now has 60 cages for raising marine fish. Each cage must have a base of 1.8 - 2 tons of commercial fish, the grouper must weigh from 5-8kg/fish, the cobia must weigh from 3-5kg/fish, all ready to be sold. But everything is gone, there is no sign of the raft anymore" - Mrs. Gai sobbed.

The 60-year-old woman could not hold back her tears: "I spend every penny I have on taking care of the fish cages. Every day I feed 1.7 - 2 tons of bait, the price of bait fish is 13,000 VND/kg at its peak, and 11,000 VND/kg at its cheapest, which means it costs nearly 30 million VND for bait per feeding. My family does not have a land title because the fish cage is our house, so we can only borrow 100 million VND from the bank, the rest is borrowed at high interest rates from outside, currently up to 1.8 billion VND. We are just waiting for the harvest day to pay for our labor and debt, but now we have lost everything" - the woman who has experienced many storms could not hold back her tears.

Now, Ms. Gai and her three children and five grandchildren have to stay at a younger sibling’s house. Ms. Gai’s dream of building a decent house on the shore in 1-2 years is more distant than ever.

The whole island still has a sadness

Not only Ms. Gai's family, many families who have made a living from the sea all their lives suddenly lost everything after just a few hours of storm number 3.

Van Don people are drenched in the rain, busy rebuilding new oyster farms. Photo: PV

Although he had anchored the family before the storm hit, after only a few hours of the storm, dozens of oyster lines belonging to Mr. Nguyen Tung Lam's family (living in Dong Ha village, Dong Xa commune) were also blown away by storm No. 3. The rain was getting heavier, but Mr. Lam and his family did not rest, rushing to finish building a new oyster farm.

"The previous storms that hit Quang Ninh, although they caused damage, were not significant. As for storm number 3, although the family had reinforced the oyster farm, it was still destroyed. There are only about 2 months left until the family can harvest the oysters. In previous years, the family earned about 200 million VND from oyster farming. The family also had a few fish cages that were also destroyed, and the boat was also broken. So this year the family still cannot get the land book back" - Mr. Lam smiled, but the smile was bitter.

Rain on the island

But as long as there are people, there is still luck. The people of Van Don island district have been working and waiting for news of Mr. Kh (53 years old) for the past few days. Since the storm hit, Mr. Kh and his 5 workers have stayed to guard the raft, because the fish in the cage are worth over 50 billion.

When the storm hit, Mr. Kh's house was overturned, and the 5 workers on the fish raft drifted in another direction. When the rescue team at sea arrived, they pulled up the raft with the 5 workers, but Mr. Kh has not been found to this day.

Mr. Nguyen Tung Lam (residing in Dong Ha village, Dong Xa commune) lost all his oysters that were ready for harvest. Photo: PV

Everyone in Cai Rong town who goes to sea hopes for a miracle, that Mr. Kh is still alive. But as we sit down to write this article, we receive news that the people of Van Don have found a body that resembles the owner of the 50 billion VND fish raft. However, the body is unidentifiable, the family must do a DNA test to believe the truth.

Never before have Van Don’s marine farmers suffered such heavy losses. The total initial estimated damage in aquaculture in Van Don district is up to thousands of billions of VND. It is not known when Van Don’s marine farmers will be able to restore production to the level before storm No. 3 hit.

Just a few days ago in Van Don, no one could count the number of people with assets worth billions of dong. But now, no one can count how many people in the island district are in debt worth billions of dong.

With a sea area of ^{​​1,620km2} , more than 600 large and small islands, tidal flats, mangrove forests with rich aquatic resources, Van Don district is assessed to have great potential for developing the fishing and aquaculture industry.

Aquaculture in Van Don in recent years has affirmed itself as a key economic sector, contributing to changing the district's economic structure, creating jobs, increasing income, and attracting domestic and foreign investment. According to statistics, the district's fish farming potential is 1,156 hectares, currently the whole district only farms nearly 100 hectares; the mollusk farming potential is 6,288 hectares, currently the district farms about 3,300 hectares.

Source: https://danviet.vn/long-be-nuoi-thuy-san-tan-hoang-nong-dan-van-don-o-quang-ninh-that-than-trang-tay-sao-bao-20240911200911312.htm