Will cage fish farmers who suffer losses receive support?

These past few days, I have been on a business trip to the Northwest region, meeting people from Hai Duong, and among the stories about my hometown, I also asked about the losses of cage fish farmers. Some people expressed that if there was any way to “rescue” those fish, they would be very willing.

But unfortunately, “Far water cannot put out a nearby fire”. “The property hurts, the child feels sorry”, “Billions of dollars flow down the river”, “Fish gnaw away the house”… are the comments of many people on social networks when looking at the images of white fish floating in cages and rivers. It is truly heartbreaking!

Besides solutions to limit widespread damage and overcome environmental pollution, affected fish farmers are hoping for support policies.

First of all, it must be said that in recent days, many cage fish farming households have not been alone in their losses. As soon as they learned of the situation, provincial leaders directed departments, branches, and localities to assist fish farming households in overcoming the losses and finding out the cause of this phenomenon. On April 9, the Provincial People's Committee directed the Department of Finance to take the lead in coordinating research and proposing mechanisms to support losses, restore production, support funding for disposal, and funding to determine the cause of fish deaths.

Banks in the province are also urgently reviewing cage fish farming households with loans at the bank to find appropriate solutions. Hoping for the bank to extend the debt, receive some support, or delay payment for feed, veterinary medicine, etc. are the wishes of many cage fish farming households that are suffering heavy losses at this time.

However, it must be said right away that, whether on the government or the bank side, the conditions for receiving support mechanisms are certainly very strict.

According to Decree No. 02/2017/ND-CP on mechanisms and policies to support agricultural production to restore production in areas damaged by natural disasters and epidemics, damaged production households will be considered for support when meeting the following conditions: Production is not contrary to the planning, plans and agricultural production instructions of local authorities.

Regarding planning, on September 7, 2017, the People's Committee of Hai Duong province issued Decision No. 2719/QD-UBND approving the Plan for developing cage fish farming in Hai Duong province until 2025. After that, the province abolished the above plan when the Planning Law took effect because it was no longer suitable. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the province has requested localities with rivers running through them to review and determine the locations of cage fish farming areas on the river, integrate them into planning and plans at all levels to create a legal basis for implementation. From 2021, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hai Duong province has recommended that localities not allow new fish cages to arise. However, according to preliminary statistics, the whole province currently has about 7,400 fish cages. It can be seen that cage fish farming areas in the province have developed too "hotly" in recent times. In some places, the fish cages are close together and the farming density is too high. High density, lack of oxygen is understandable.

Also according to Decree No. 02 mentioned above, households must have initial registration and declaration, confirmed by the People's Committee at the commune level for concentrated livestock farming (farms, family farms, cooperatives) and aquaculture or quarantine certificate (if any)...

But in reality, many households raising fish in cages in Hai Duong still do it spontaneously, seeing others doing it and doing it themselves. They pay little attention to declaring or asking for confirmation from the commune-level People's Committee. Only when damage occurs, many people "complain to heaven and blame the earth".

Even if the farming is planned and confirmed by the People's Committee at the commune level... the farming households will only be supported in cases where the cause is determined to be natural disasters or epidemics. However, currently, reputable central authorities such as the Northern Center for Environmental Monitoring and Aquatic Diseases, and the Veterinary Department of Region 2 have determined that the cause of the death of caged fish is not due to epidemics, but due to... lack of oxygen.

So the possibility of getting support is very difficult.