Final article: Fishermen decide the effectiveness

Song Ngoc fishing industry - Why?

Although not located near the sea, Quynh Ngoc commune has long had a relatively developed fishing industry, including hamlets 12 and 13 (Song Ngoc village) where people mainly live on marine resources. Before mid-2016, Song Ngoc had up to 36 boats, creating jobs for about 300 male workers directly involved in catching seafood and the same number of women involved in trading fish and marine products. Thanks to that, people's lives were very stable. However, after the marine environmental incident in Ha Tinh, people here sold almost all their boats, and now there are only 5 left.

Fishermen in Tien Thuy commune (Quynh Luu) prepare their fishing nets for the next offshore trip. Photo: Duc Anh

When investigating the reason why Song Ngoc fishermen sold their boats, while other localities bordering Song Ngoc such as Son Hai and Quynh Long still operate normally, even developing, most Song Ngoc fishermen said that "the products they make cannot be sold due to marine environmental incidents". In addition, Song Ngoc does not have a wharf, so there is no place to anchor, making it very difficult to manage boats as well as sell fish; and the Son Hai bridge over the Thai River - the only waterway for Song Ngoc fishermen to go to sea - is too low, making it impossible for large boats to go out; and small boats are ineffective at staying at sea.

In fact, some Song Ngoc fishermen are selling their boats because most of the other localities have now switched to large boats with large engines, at least 4 sao, to go fishing far from shore. Meanwhile, the boats in Song Ngoc are mainly small boats, with a capacity of 70 - 300CV, 2 sao boats for offshore fishing, so they are not effective (weak lights do not attract seafood to come closer). Mr. Nguyen Son in hamlet 12 said: “I used to fish on 2 sao boats, but recently I have not done it anymore because it is not effective. People use 4 sao boats with very strong lights, our boats are “dark”, how can we attract fish and squid, so I and many others have to sell our boats. Moreover, because rumors about marine pollution are spreading too widely, we are afraid that many people are still hesitant to use products from the sea.”

It is unclear whether the people of Song Ngoc are unaware or deliberately linking the “marine environmental pollution incident” to marine products in the areas where they fish (Northern Gulf of Tonkin)? Do they understand that it is their awareness and actions of quitting their jobs, along with some unfounded demands for compensation when claiming that the seafood in their fishing areas is also contaminated due to the Formosa incident, that have created “rumors” that make people afraid to use marine products. The people who suffer the most, who bear the full consequences of the instability in the situation of fishing and consumption of marine products, are none other than the fishermen and those who make a living from jobs related to the sea. Moreover, when asked, if there is a good support policy, are they willing to borrow capital to return to the profession with big ships and big engines? Mr. Son answered “as if it were pre-programmed”: Everyone wants to return to the profession, but as long as “Formosa” still exists, we have not thought about it! Many fishermen in Song Ngoc also answered the same way. It is worth mentioning that most of the people who previously worked in fishing and purchasing products from the sea here are now unemployed.

Ms. Dang Thi Nga - a family specializing in producing traditional fish sauce and shrimp paste in Manh Son Parish (Tien Thuy Commune). Photo: Viet Hung

Along with the seafaring profession, another profession that has a “close relationship” with the sea here is also very developed, which is the fish sauce making profession. In the past 5 years, thanks to the processing of fish sauce, the lives of many households in Song Ngoc parish have improved, the rate of well-off households accounts for more than 50% of the total number of households in hamlets 12 and 13; the rate of poor households decreased to 6% in 2016 (in 2010, the rate of poor households was over 30%). The fish sauce profession is also creating regular jobs for about 100 local workers with a stable income of 4.5 - 5 million VND/person/month.

It can be seen that Song Ngoc people are extremely dynamic, hard-working, industrious and creative. Although not located near the sea, for a long time Song Ngoc has had a developed seafood fishing profession and it has become a traditional profession when they realized that the sea will bring prosperity and abundance. When the demand for seafood products of the people is increasing, the fish sauce profession has been chosen by Song Ngoc people to develop. The Song Ngoc fish sauce brand has gradually been formed and spread. Building Song Ngoc into a village with a profession is what the people here need to aim for in order to develop.

Fishermen need to make wise decisions for the common good.

After the environmental incident in the central coastal region, there was a period of time when fishing and seafood exploitation activities were seriously affected, especially in coastal areas of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri provinces... In Nghe An, although not located in the polluted area, it was still affected to some extent; total exploitation output did not decrease, but the value of products after exploitation decreased significantly. That is the truth.

However, immediately after that, the Central Government, ministries, branches and localities implemented many remedial measures, strictly monitored the marine environment; publicized monitoring data on the media and issued recommendations to fishermen and consumers. In addition, they promoted propaganda, mobilization, and confirmed the origin of seafood exploited in safe sea areas...

Specifically, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development directed the fisheries control force to support and coordinate with the People's Committees of the four provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien - Hue to increase patrols and mobilize fishermen not to use bottom-sea fishing in the sea area 20 nautical miles from shore, until there is an official conclusion from the Ministry of Health that some indicators for bottom-sea fishing are safe. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment urged Formosa Ha Tinh Company to complete on schedule the proposed remediation of violations; assess environmental impacts, and take measures to prevent underground discharge pipes into the sea in accordance with the law. The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, and the People's Committees of the four provinces monitor the quality of the marine environment and food safety for seafood exploited in the four central provinces. Currently, the payment of compensation and support for damages to people affected by the environmental incident is also being urgently completed...

Nghe An also regularly organizes marine environmental monitoring sessions. In 2016 alone, 43 marine environmental monitoring sessions were conducted in Cua Lo, Cua Hoi... and the results showed that the parameters were within the allowable limits. These activities are aimed at helping fishermen feel secure in their fishing; helping consumers feel secure in using marine products in safe areas, specifically the traditional fishing grounds where Nghe An fishermen often participate in fishing.

The fishing boat with registration number NA 96989 TS of Mr. Ta Xuan Bay, this is a fishing boat built with loan capital from Decree 67 of the Government. Photo: Duc Anh

Thanks to the drastic and responsible actions of the entire political system and the majority of the people, consumers have had the right awareness and feel secure in using seafood products. The evidence is that from the beginning of November 2016 until now, the seafood consumption market has been stable. Even the selling price increased dramatically before, during and after Tet and is currently still at a high level (abalone fish 50,000 VND/kg, spotted fish 17,000 VND/kg...). Thanks to that, the first fishing trips of the year, although not the main fishing season (southern fish season), fishermen still won big in both output and value, income, and people's lives have improved a lot.

Mr. Ta Xuan Bay - a fisherman in Tien Thuy commune (Quynh Luu) who "hit the jackpot" on the first fishing trip of the year happily said: In early February, we went out to sea for only 4 days and caught 15 tons of fish, mainly black-spotted fish; with a selling price of 22,000 VND/kg, after deducting expenses, each person earned more than 10 million VND. "I don't know about other places, but here, we only had difficulties for a short time, then returned to normal operations. Everyone is happy and excited because the seafood harvest is good and the price is good. We will continue to go out to sea, because this is the source of income for our families and also the responsibility of fishermen in protecting the fishing grounds and protecting the sovereignty of our homeland's sea and islands.

Currently, fishing activities have returned to normal. With the support of the State, fishermen continue to build more large ships, large engines; modern fishing gear, nets and tools. Fishermen in Quynh Luu, Dien Chau, Nghi Loc districts, Cua Lo town, Hoang Mai town still stick to the sea day and night, going offshore. The sea is safe, fishermen's catch has increased sharply, prices are stable and higher than before. Therefore, to continue sticking to the sea and getting rich from the sea, the important solution is that fishermen need to pay attention to building a consumption market, creating a chain of links, a chain of products from producers, fishermen to consumers; together with the competent authorities certifying the origin of seafood. People need to have a common awareness, stabilize the production and processing situation, improve product quality, to protect their own immediate and long-term interests. Fishermen themselves are the most important people in the story of improving the consumption capacity as well as the value of products.

The actions of protesting and making baseless demands only waste people's time, affecting their fishing, production and business activities, their families and their communities. It is even possible that people themselves are being exploited to create instability in social order and safety, affecting the investment environment and the socio-economic development of the country. The Party and the State, ministries, branches and authorities at all levels have been involved in the fight and clarification of issues related to the Formosa incident in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese law. At the same time, the enterprise itself has committed to taking responsibility for overcoming and handling the incident. Recently, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and scientists have inspected, evaluated and reported that FHS has overcome 52/53 violations.

The sea always welcomes and does not disappoint the hard-working fishermen who work hard to bring material and spiritual life to their families, and peace to their villages and society. The sea waits for fishermen, the mainland waits for the benefits and resources from the sea.