'Taxi team' goes to the beach
As the founders of the fishing logistics service industry, effectively supporting the development of fishermen in the Central region, Mr. Le Men and his son Le Van Sang (Thuan Phuoc ward, Hai Chau district, Da Nang) currently have a pair of the largest logistics service ships in the Central region, 3 large capacity ships and many offshore fishing vessels under the family's management. To smoothly operate the logistics and fishing fleet, to create wealth, it is necessary to have minds that dare to think, dare to do and have a thorough understanding of the ocean...
"Taxi team" going to the beach
Although he is over 60 years old this year, and has been riding the waves of Hoang Sa for more than 40 years, Mr. Le Men still looks like a young man, talking loudly like a true “wave-eater”. In a crowd, he is always the most outstanding person. He told me about the process of establishing his fleet of boats, like taxis running on the sea, starting with small boats.
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Mr. Le Men on a family logistics ship. Photo: GT |
“Before 1975, I also went to sea, but at that time I only fished inshore with small boats with very low engine capacity, often going fishing every 2 days and coming back once, the amount of fish that was damaged due to lack of preservation was quite a lot. From then on, I thought, I have to go to work in the service industry, buying fish for people and bringing ice, oil, rice, and medicine so that people can stay at sea.”
In 2013, Mr. Le Men was one of 63 farmers honored as Outstanding Vietnamese Farmers by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Farmers' Union. |
In 2006, the demand for purchasing seafood and serving fishermen at sea increased, especially in the Hoang Sa fishing grounds. Mr. Men was determined to build a large ship, DNa 90424, with a capacity of 520 horsepower. With this large ship, Mr. Men began to go further offshore in the Hoang Sa fishing grounds and the Gulf of Tonkin to purchase seafood and provide fuel and food for fishermen. Each trip, the ship provided hundreds of blocks of ice, oil, food, and medicine for fishermen. Thanks to this support, fishermen made a profit on each trip, saved costs, increased income, and had longer time at sea...
Since 2012, the People's Committee of Da Nang City has focused on developing the fisheries industry in the direction of offshore fishing; issued Decision No. 7068/2012/QD-UBND on supporting the construction of new offshore fishing vessels for fishermen. Fisherman Le Men decided to invest in another logistics vessel, the DNa 90444 with a capacity of 1,160CV. Recalling the moment he decided to build a large logistics vessel, old fisherman Le Men confided: "When I entered the profession, I realized what fishermen at sea needed and what they lacked. The previous logistics vessels only provided a part while the fishermen's needs were very large, especially how to bring sea fish to the mainland and to consumers still fresh. Therefore, I boldly invested."
Not stopping there, at the end of 2016, Mr. Men continued to launch his family's third service ship with a total cost of 7.2 billion VND. This is perhaps the most modern and largest wooden ship in the Central region. In addition to modern seagoing equipment, it is also equipped with bathrooms and toilets, ensuring the crew members have the best and safest life.
| Talking about his family's "taxi team" running at sea, Mr. Men confided: "My family works in logistics services, there are flexible things that state agencies find difficult to do, for example: If a ship has a sick person at sea, call the logistics ship; even if it is dozens of nautical miles away, when we receive a call, we will rush to take them to shore. Since I started working, I have never refused any emergency case from fishermen. Or when working at sea, if anyone has to go home, I will pick them up on shore, then take them to the bus station to go home. When broken machine parts need to be repaired or replaced, as soon as a call comes to shore, my family buys them and sends workers to fix them. Then we give away vegetables, meat, beer, and provide fresh water to people... with an estimated cost of more than 100 million VND per month, all for free. I am the only one who collects money for fuel and ice. With such support, they will stick with us." |
Mr. Men's family is creating jobs for 50 workers, with 35 people directly going to sea and 15 people working as fish sellers at Tho Quang fish market. These 50 workers are provided with accommodation and meals, with a monthly income of 8 - 17 million VND/person, depending on the fishing season. Mr. Men said that after 3 years, none of the workers working for his family has failed to save 300 million VND. He is not only the boss who pays salaries, but also the manager, instructing his workers to know how to save, not to gamble, and to bring the money they earn back to their wives and children. Anyone who violates this will be fired...
Like father, like son
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Fisherman Le Van Sang proudly received the Outstanding Young Vietnamese Faces Award. Photo: DT |
Le Van Sang is planning to bring his clean fish products to the mountainous markets and the northern provinces. “With the “strategy” of each fish serving costing only 30,000 VND, everyone can eat seafood, not just for expensive restaurants, or having to export at a cheap price because rudimentary processing and preservation technology reduces the value” - Sang shared. |
If Mr. Le Men makes people know about the boldness of a fisherman who dares to think and dare to do, then his son - Le Van Sang (born in 1985) represents the new generation of fishermen, whom I call "fishermen of the integration and technology era".
In addition to the clean fish brand Sang fish, Sang is currently preparing to set sail with a pair of new fishing boats, including a modern iron boat worth 22 billion VND (with an ice maker and many other electronic devices); renting a boat from a fisherman in Khanh Hoa. Sang said: "I invested in these two boats to focus on catching eels for export to Korea."
Sang enthusiastically told me about the sea eel, it is the longest-living creature in the world. According to research, the sea eel has existed for 350 million years, living at a depth of 500m, only eating carrion. Its entire body contains extremely high levels of collagen, especially the slime of this creature is used to weave bulletproof armor and high-end diving suits because it has high elasticity and is 11 times stronger than steel.
To prepare for capturing the new seafood species, Sang ordered the production of a cage system at a factory in Quang Ninh, using cage-release ropes from Thailand. On Sang's pair of ships, the cargo holds are also divided into small compartments to keep the eels alive. "This is a new seafood species, extremely voracious, I just need to grind the bait fish and put it in the cage, then drop it to a depth of 500m and they will crawl in by themselves, I just need to drop the basket overnight to pull them up. This type of fishing is quite leisurely, if successful with this eel, it will open up a new direction for fishermen. Currently, drinking establishments have started selling this dish at a price of 750,000 VND/kg; exports to Korea are about 30 USD/kg. Because the market demand in Korea is very large, eels have to go by plane to meet the expectations of customers" - Sang said.
Sitting and talking with me, Sang shared more: Although our country's fishing technology is still backward, it is not as good as the technology after preservation and processing. Sometimes seeing damaged seafood makes me feel so sad... Sang's dream is to have about 500 billion VND now, to build a ship, to make a floating processing factory right on the sea surface. Wherever the fishing boats go, we will bring the factory there, the seafood is processed fresh on the same day, only then can we increase the value of our country's seafood...
If I had time, I could sit all day listening to Mr. Men and his son's dreams and plans for the sea without getting bored. But through the conversation, I know for sure that if we work with our minds and technology, fishermen can definitely get rich from Vietnam's seas of millions of square kilometers with rich fishing grounds such as Hoang Sa, Truong Sa...
» Nghe An fishermen set out on fishing boats to conquer Hoang Sa and Truong Sa fishing grounds
» The open sea is enriching the fishermen of the Central region
According to Gia Tuong/danviet
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