The life story of a Fisheries Inspector
(Baonghean.vn) - Before meeting the workers on the fishing control boats that were suspended from work, I thought that they - people who have experienced the sun, wind, storms, and waves of the sea, facing many dangers - must be brave and courageous, not weak or miserable in any situation. But that thought was not entirely true...
Dear colleague
We stopped at the boat anchorage of Hai Chau Shipbuilding Limited Company (Trung Do Ward, Vinh City), where 2 fishing control ships and 2 speedboats ofDepartment of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillanceon shore on April 6, 2024. Here, there was a bit of surprise when 4/10 workers on the ship were suspended, and as they said the reason, they volunteered to stay and look after the ship, in a faint hope of being able to continue working.
They include deputy captain of ship KN 688 NA Nguyen Huu Hao, chief engineer of ship KN 688 NA Tran Hoang Minh (Quynh Long commune, Quynh Luu district), chief engineer of ship KN 93967 VN Ta Quang Thang (Yen Thanh) and chief sailor Tran Trong Thanh.
Of the four, the one that caught our attention was the captain Tran Trong Thanh. He was of average height, sturdy, and had a slight beard. Seeing the reporters, he quietly went to the deck, sat down, lit a cigarette, and took deep, thoughtful puffs. Then he grabbed a fishing rod, baited it, and fished, as if to avoid being questioned.
Asking these workers about Thanh, they were told that he is 37 years old, from Thanh Chuong district, and has worked for more than 10 years. Thanh lives with his wife and children in a small apartment in Vinh city. As the chief sailor, Thanh does a lot of work on the ship, from making ropes, anchors, winches, and keeping watch... But most importantly, Thanh is the one who drives the speedboat to chase and approach fishing boats with signs of illegal fishing, serving the patrol and control work at sea.
“Few sailors can control a speedboat like Thanh. There were times when we encountered an illegal fishing boat and were pushed into the sea by the subject. Thanks to Thanh controlling the speedboat to rush in and catch us in time, we were able to save our lives…” - Deputy Captain Nguyen Huu Hao said about his colleague Tran Trong Thanh.
According to deputy captain Nguyen Huu Hao, each ship is only assigned 5 personnel including the driver, mechanic and sailor. Every time they go to sea, the Sub-Department increases the number of civil servants to participate. Those civil servants are responsible for making records to handle violations according to regulations. The other 5 personnel of the ship are responsible for operating and driving high-speed boats to support inspection and control work; participating in search and rescue when fishermen are in trouble at sea. With 22 years of working on a fisheries inspection ship, Nguyen Huu Hao summarized: "Every job has its difficulties. In operating a sea patrol ship, preventing seafood exploitation also has its own difficulties that not everyone knows or understands."
The difficulties as he described, are when both the fishing boat and the speedboat move at high speed, along with big waves, not only must one know the job, be good at the job, but also be equipped with skills and experience. When the speedboat approaches the fishing boat, one must immediately leave to avoid collisions, causing accidents; one must know how to coast to get to the fishing boat, and when to get from the fishing boat to the boat. When boarding the fishing boat, one must know how to choose a position, create a solid stance to avoid being thrown into the sea by the wind and waves; one must stay away from the winch, the stretched net, the running engine, etc. to avoid accidents for oneself; one must stand close to the objects used for self-defense when necessary. And when teammates board the fishing boat for inspection, one must always stay close, with at least one person accompanying to observe, support, and protect.
Having been on fishing boats for many years, they know the difficulties and risks to avoid, but being attacked by fishermen who violate the law still happens frequently. Because when being discovered violating, the subjects often resist by steering the boat in a swerving manner, cutting across the bow of the fishing boat or fishing boat to cause accidents; using a long bamboo pole with a sharp hook at the end to chase and prevent; throwing rocks and other available objects to prevent the speedboat from approaching the fishing boat.
“Usually when we board the violating ship, the subject will not cooperate by locking the cabin, driving the ship at full speed to the waters of another province, or using sticks, ice-cutting knives, fire axes… to threaten us. They are even willing to assault and push us into the sea to escape. That is why every employee must uphold their responsibility, know how to protect themselves and their teammates…” – Deputy Captain Nguyen Huu Hao said.
The ship is home
Talking to the captain Tran Trong Thanh, he said that he was the breadwinner of the family, even though his salary was only 6 million VND/month and his seafaring expenses were 110 thousand VND/day.
“My wife’s job is still unstable, and our children are still young. Since the beginning of the year, because the agency has not paid my salary, in addition to working on duty and working for free on the ship, I also work as a delivery man to earn a little extra money to cover our living expenses. My wife stays at home to manage daily living expenses and the children’s education…” – Thanh said.
Asked Thanh: With such difficulties, did she blame me for anything? Thanh smiled sadly: “There are some things to say about difficulties and fatigue, but fortunately… my wife hasn’t left me yet.” Pausing for a moment, Thanh looked out at the Lam River as if looking for the sea and then said softly: “For me, and for my colleagues, the ship is like a second home. But even though I don’t want to leave the ship, don’t want to be far from my colleagues, if this situation continues, I will have to find another job. As a man, I have to have a job to earn money to support my life, and raise my children with my wife…”
The captain of the KN 688 NA ship, Tran Hoang Minh, is from Quynh Long commune, Quynh Luu district, while the captain of the KN 93967 VN ship, Ta Quang Thang, is from Yen Thanh district. Tran Hoang Minh has worked on a fishing control ship for 22 years, while Ta Quang Thang has worked for 17 years. They said that their monthly salary is about 7 million VND, and they also receive a small amount of allowance for each sea trip. Although it is difficult, hard and dangerous, when it comes to leaving the ship and the crew, they are sad and tearful.
“I have worked on a fishing inspection vessel for more than 22 years, and I am 52 years old this year. At this age, I thought that after working for another five or seven years, I would retire according to the regulations, but I never thought that one day I would fall into such a difficult situation. When I heard that the Information Department had temporarily suspended the contract and had no source to pay the salary for my colleagues, I was really surprised. An unexpected surprise. I still know that it is a regulation and I have to accept it, and I do not blame my superiors. But I really hope to be considered to continue to stick with the profession, the job that I have been attached to for more than 20 years, until I retire according to the regulations. Having to leave the vessel, having to leave the colleagues, I feel heartbroken…”.
Among the reporters who boarded the fishing control ship, reporter Thanh Cuong had worked as a fishing control officer for 5 years. Feeling sad when hearing the confidences of Nguyen Huu Hao, Tran Hoang Minh, Ta Quang Thang and Tran Trong Thanh, reporter Thanh Cuong told about many sea journeys he had experienced. Those were the times of searching, rescuing and saving people at sea from Con Co to Bach Long Vi. Those were the times when he and 8 colleagues operated the fishing control ship KN 93969 KN and directly discovered a fishing boat in Son Hai commune using prohibited fishing gear to illegally exploit clams on the shore of Dien Hung commune. This fishing boat then refused to cooperate, ran at high speed, continuously actively rammed and collided with the patrol boat, causing the railings on both sides of the fishing control ship to be severely damaged. When the working group got to the violating ship, the subjects on the ship fiercely fought back with knives, and one of the remaining subjects used an axe to go down to the bottom of the ship to sink it to "blackmail the working group...
Recalling memories that will stay with him for the rest of his life, Thanh Cuong said that because his old mother was alone and had no one to take care of her, he decided to find another job, but until now he still considers the ship as a home full of warm family affection. “I left the fishing control ship for a long time, but when I have free time, I often visit the ship and my brothers. The sea profession is very strange, I always feel a pang of longing for the sea…” – Thanh Cuong confided.
Will there be sharing?
After Nghe An Newspaper reported on the 10 workers on the fishing control ship who were suspended from work due to regulations, the fishing control ship had to stay ashore, and stopped fishing control activities at sea due to lack of operators, we received many opinions sharing with the 10 workers, hoping that the competent authorities would consider removing the obstacles so that they could continue to work, so that the fishing control ship could continue to operate.
Thereby, it is proposed: “From the above existing problems and difficulties, in order to ensure the legitimate and legal rights of workers as well as to continue to carry out urgent tasks of patrolling and controlling at sea to contribute to removing the Yellow Card of the European Commission EC, the Executive Committee of the Trade Union of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control respectfully requests the Trade Union of the Agriculture and Rural Development sector to propose to competent authorities to consider and approve the policy that the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control continue to sign labor contracts for union members who have worked on the 2 fishing control vessels until training and recruitment of cadres according to the approved job position project...”.
From the proposal of the Executive Committee of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control Trade Union, contacting Mr. Nguyen Tat Hoa - Chairman of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Trade Union, he said: “The Trade Union has received the report of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control Trade Union. We have also discussed with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and were informed that the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee will soon work with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. In the report of the Department submitted to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, there is a statement of the current situation of the fisheries control work at sea related to the suspension of work of 10 workers on the fisheries control vessel due to regulations. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Trade Union hopes that through this working session, related issues will be considered and resolved, helping the 10 workers to continue working, so that the fisheries control work at sea can resume…”.
