Nha Trang Oceanography Institute scientists and Bac Lieu officials on April 12 oversaw over ten fishermen cutting up whale meat that had been put into a tomb a month ago.

Building open-cast tomb for giant whale

15-ton whale found dead off southern Vietnam coast

Cau Ngu Festival and tourist cultural week to open in Phan Thiet

The task will take five days because of the whale’s large size.

In early 2010 a dead whale drifted to Bac Lieu’s seaside. At that time, fishermen tried in vain to cut down the giant fish and bury it. The whale was still fresh and its meat was very tough.

Authorities decided to put the whale into a tomb to let it disintegrate and then collect the skeleton for tourism and to satisfy residents’ beliefs. However, the process has caused serious environmental pollution and officials decided to try cutting and burying the meat again. They will treat the skeleton with chemicals and put it back into the tomb.

This task is overseen by Bac Lieu Vice-Chair Bui Hong Phuong, assisted by experts.

Phuong explained that some people consider the whale to be a holy fish, so daily thousands arrive in Bac Lieu to see it. The province decided to build two bridges to facilitate vehicles traveling to the tomb of the whale and to develop ecological tourism in this area.

Trung Lieu