HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam is maintaining the ban on deep-water fishing in four central provinces one year after a Taiwanese-owned steel plant discharged toxins into the sea and caused the country's worst environmental disaster.
State-run Tuoi Tre newspaper on Thursday quoted Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh as saying fishermen should not fish for seafood in deep water within 20 nautical miles from the coast in the four provinces until the Ministry of Health finds it safe to eat and maritime resources restored.
The $10.6 billion steel complex owned by Formosa Plastics Group discharged toxins such as cyanide and phenol that exceeded allowable limits during a test run in April last year. It caused massive deaths of fish and other sea life and the owner was ordered to pay $500 million in compensation.
