Lesson 1: The Benefits of Career Change

(Baonghean) - The declining fishery resources, coupled with continuously rising fuel prices, the shortage of skilled and qualified labor in the fishing industry, and inadequate and inconsistent infrastructure are all reasons why the province's fishing industry is facing pressure to change. And the shortest path to change is offshore fishing…

Orphaned at three months old, and having dropped out of secondary school to join the fishermen in his village to earn a living, Truong Cong Tuan (Hamlet 2, Quynh Nghia Commune - Quynh Luu District) understands better than anyone the hardships of the fishing profession, especially for those whose boats are always confined to the shore. Therefore, Tuan always strives to work hard so that one day he can own a large ship and sail straight out to sea. "In 2000, I worked with others building 90CV boats, but it wasn't profitable, so after two years I sold them and upgraded to 120CV. In 2007, I bought my own 130CV boat, but every time we went out to sea and encountered winds of force 5 or 6, we had to worry about returning to shore, which was tough. It wasn't until the middle of last year, along with nine other people in the same profession, that we built a 500CV, four-stake boat. Now my boat can travel hundreds of nautical miles, within the shared fishing grounds in the Gulf of Tonkin, so the only worry is not having enough strength to fish," Tuan said excitedly.

Mr. Truong Cong Tuan's boat has a power of 500CV (in the Quynh Nghia - Quynh Luu district).

According to the owner of the NA 9012TS boat, in the past, if the weather was calm, each fishing trip would last 20 days, and by the time they returned, the fish and squid would have spoiled. Now, during one lunar cycle (from around the 17th or 18th of this month to the 7th or 8th of the following month), they can make three trips, each lasting a week, and sometimes they can catch dozens of tons of fish in just one night. Tuan said: "On average, during peak season, after deducting expenses of about 100 million dong (4,000 liters of fuel, 15,000 blocks of ice, food and provisions for 10 people), we make a profit of about 150 million dong; calculated that each person brings home about 15 million dong per month for their wife and children."

According to the Nghe An Fisheries Exploitation and Protection Sub-Department, implementing the policy of shifting occupations and relocating fishing grounds, since 2009, along with the increase in the number of vessels, the structure of the province's offshore fishing fleet has also continuously increased. As of the end of June 2012, out of 4,178 fishing vessels of all types, 1,027 were offshore fishing vessels (over 90 horsepower) with a total capacity of 236,640 horsepower, including 53 newly built vessels and 67 renovated vessels. The strong development of the offshore fishing fleet has significantly contributed to the province's seafood catch in the first six months of 2012 reaching 62,116 tons (almost equal to the 2011 annual catch of 66,533 tons and more than double the 2001 catch).

Mr. Hoang Sy Ngan, Head of the Fisheries Resource and Environment Management Department, Fisheries Exploitation and Protection Sub-Department, said: Sharing the difficulties with fishermen in the province, from 2009 to the present, implementing decisions on policies to support investment in agricultural, rural and fisheries development, the Sub-Department has been implementing 25 models with a budget of 1.785 billion VND to support fishermen in coastal areas in changing their occupations. These include changing from trawling to offshore trawling, from nearshore purse seine fishing to gillnet fishing, from light-attracting seine fishing to squid trawling with 4-gauge nets, from trawling to purse seine fishing, from nearshore trawling to offshore purse seine fishing, from nearshore trawling to offshore purse seine fishing, from inshore trawling to offshore trawling, from inshore trawling to offshore trawling…

Mr. Vo Trung Kien, a fisheries officer at the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Quynh Luu district, said: Quynh Luu is not only the district with the largest number of offshore fishing vessels in the province (809 offshore vessels/2,096 vessels of all types) but also a pioneering and leading locality in implementing the policy of establishing cooperative groups at sea according to Decision 21/2008/QD-UBND dated March 13, 2008 of the Provincial People's Committee. To date, the entire district has 136 groups and teams of all types with 612 participating vessels and 5,832 affiliated members.

The latest statistics from the Nghe An Fisheries Exploitation and Protection Sub-Department show that currently, fishermen in the province have established 159 cooperative groups for marine fisheries exploitation with 1,113 vessels (an average of 5-7 vessels per group) exploiting main fishing methods such as: purse seine fishing for fish and squid; gillnet fishing; trawling; etc. The establishment of these fishing groups has helped fishermen bond together in production and product consumption, improve fishing efficiency, and provide timely support during rough seas or when encountering accidents at sea. The cooperative groups in many communes of Quynh Luu district have formed strong fishing fleets, operating effectively and exploiting marine resources using gillnet fishing in the Gulf of Tonkin and neighboring provinces.
(To be continued)

Xuan Hai