The construction of new fishing vessels needs to be accelerated in accordance with Decree 67/CP.

(Baonghean.vn) - On the afternoon of April 14th, the Provincial People's Committee held a conference to discuss measures to accelerate the implementation of Decree 67/2014/ND-CP.

Comrade Dinh Viet Hong – Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee – chaired the meeting. Attendees included representatives from provincial departments and agencies, and leaders from the districts of Quynh Luu, Hoang Mai, Dien Chau, Nghi Loc, and the town of Cua Lo.

Comrade Dinh Viet Hong delivered a speech at the conference.

Nghe An currently has 3,966 fishing vessels with a total capacity of nearly 450,000 horsepower. Implementing Decree 67/2014/ND-CP, the Provincial People's Committee has approved 68 vessels eligible for loans to build new fishing vessels and logistics services for offshore fishing. These include: 34 wooden-hulled fishing vessels, 1 composite-hulled vessel, 31 steel-hulled vessels, and 2 newly built steel-hulled fishing logistics service vessels. To date, construction has begun on 12 wooden-hulled vessels. Currently, commercial banks have received and are processing applications for 4 steel-hulled vessels and 3 wooden-hulled vessels. Regarding fishing vessel insurance, as of March 31, 2015, insurance premiums collected amounted to over 8.7 billion VND, of which 1.37 billion VND was contributed by the people, and the remainder was supported by the state budget. The number of fishing vessels participating in insurance is 573 out of 1,271 vessels, reaching 45%; the number of crew members participating is 5,288 out of 14,279 people, reaching 37%.

Leaders of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development report on the progress of implementing Decree 67.

The leader of Cua Lo town delivered a speech.

The leader of Hoang Mai town delivered a speech.

The leader of the State Bank of Vietnam's Nghe An branch delivered a speech at the conference.

According to assessments, the implementation progress under Decree 67 is currently generally slow. The selection of fishing vessel designs is facing many difficulties; although there are 21 steel-hulled vessel designs, none are suitable for actual production at sea, especially for trawling. Most vessel owners have to adjust or redesign their vessels. Fishermen lack matching funds, and the short repayment period (for steel-hulled vessels) makes it difficult for most owners to repay their loans.

Concluding the conference, Comrade Dinh Viet Hong emphasized that although Nghe An province started implementing Decree 67 early, the progress has been slow. Therefore, to accelerate progress, he requested the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to advise the province on reorganizing the working group assisting the Steering Committee, continuing to approve the list of eligible subjects for policy implementation under the Decree, and urging Pjico Nghe An Insurance Company to expedite insurance sales to ensure the rights of fishermen during the rainy and stormy season. He also directed the Fisheries Exploitation and Protection Sub-Department to support fishermen in adjusting the design (for steel-hulled vessels) and selecting vessels according to the province's model design after approval by the General Department of Fisheries (for wooden-hulled vessels). The People's Committees of coastal districts and towns need to guide fishermen in registering and appraising loan applications for building new, upgrading, and renovating fishing vessels according to the announced targets; The State Bank of Vietnam has instructed commercial banks to allocate capital and provide staff to guide borrowers through the loan application process quickly and securely.

Thu Huyen