Typhoon Yagi, which hit Quang Ninh Province that is home to Ha Long on Sept. 7, has damaged 455 aquaculture facilities, as well as over 1,300 ha of areas to raise aquaculture products, the Quang Yen Town People's Committee said.
Broken pieces of styrofoam from aquaculture facilities make it hard to collect them in one place, polluting the water environment.
In Hoang Tan Island, part of the buffer zone of Ha Long Bay, is the most affected. More than 381 families on the island have reported that over 1,260 ha of areas for aquaculture were damaged.
The island is about 5 km away from tourist areas.
The Cai Dam Port area has millions of cubic meters of trash, a result of destroyed aquaculture facilities.
The trash now threatens the environment of Ha Long Bay.
Trash fills up a mangrove forest near the Cai Dam Port, polluting the environment and threaten the lives of multiple species in the area.
In mid-2023, Quang Ninh authorities began to get rid of unapproved aquaculture farms, and switch out styrofoams for new materials over environmental crisis at Ha Long Bay.
Vu Kien Cuong, director of the Ha Long Bay management committee, said trash from the Hoang Tan island area has invaded the bay.
"The committee has planned to coordinate with Quang Yen Town, Ha Long City to clean up the trash in 10 days," he said.
Despite mobilizing hundreds of people for days-long campaigns to clean up the bay, pollution persists.
Tran Van Vinh, 57, lost around VND1 billion ($39,502) after the storm damaged his aquaculture farm, and has been having trouble rebuilding.
Several people have been recycling styrofoam buoys for use. A styrofoam buoy costs around VND140,000, while a plastic one costs around VND350,000-500,000.
Families in the area can have up to hundreds of aquaculture farms, so the cost for buying buoys is not small.
