Fishing logistics - A fulcrum for fishermen to stay at sea

(Baonghean) - Since the late 80s of the last century, Van Xuan fishing cooperative has emerged as a phenomenon, with the first offshore ships in the North. Unable to hide his pride, Mr. Ngo Dinh Thuyet - former Vice Chairman of Van Xuan Cooperative "boasted" to us, the days when he and the board of directors went all the way to Quang Ngai to build 9 ships with 150CV engines and a tonnage of 80 tons. And each trip to sea, each ship earned a whole tael of gold. During the prosperous period, going to Korea did not earn as much as going to sea in Van Xuan. The development of the sea industry led to the development of logistics services for the fishing industry. This is one of the earliest places in our province to form a team specializing in providing services for the fishing industry. After the cooperative was dissolved, a relatively professional logistics team for the fishing industry was formed in Nghi Xuan, Nghi Loc district. Logistics for the fishing industry is one of the important links contributing to the success of the sea exploitation industry.

One of them is Mr. Ngo Dinh Thuyet, former Vice Chairman of Van Xuan Cooperative. When the cooperative disbanded, he switched to supplying ice, oil, lamps, and food for offshore vessels and was also the one who "purchased" the products for those vessels. Depending on the season, the fish moved to wherever the fleet went, he was there to organize the service. In January, February, March, and April, he went to Nghe An fishing grounds; in May, June, and July, he went to Dong Hoi; in September and October, he went to Thanh Hoa. Currently, he is providing services for more than 10 offshore vessels from Thanh Hoa to Quang Ngai, mainly Nghe An vessels. His family supplies each trip with specific products such as ice, food, lamp oil, etc. Large-capacity vessels cost tens of millions of VND, small-capacity vessels cost five to seven million VND. When the vessels catch fish, he prepares to sell the products.

This way, he recovered his capital, the rest belonged to the profession. Mr. Dau Hong Kinh - the owner of an offshore boat in Nghi Xuan said: For many years, he has been "loyal" to Mr. Thuyet's fish "broker". Before the boat returned to the dock, he reported the quantity of fish to Mr. Thuyet's family, and the purchase and sale were agreed upon in advance. After selling the fish, he deducted the cost of the trip and received the remaining money to share with his fellow fishermen. The new fishing trip was fully supplied by the "broker", so when it was time to depart, he only had to get on the boat to give the order to go out to sea, while the crew only had to do the fishing. On many unsuccessful fishing trips, the "broker" was also willing to share. When the boat had problems and was put on the repair dock, the "broker" joined hands to share the difficulties. "With this method, it has helped fishermen feel secure to stick to the sea to produce" - Mr. Kinh shared.

As the fishing industry develops, and there is no more fresh fish to sell, Mr. Thuyet thinks of building a cold storage. In 2006, the first cold storage was built. Up to now, his family alone has 4 warehouses, including one supply warehouse and 3 storage warehouses with a capacity of more than 200 tons. From the initial effective warehouse, Nghi Xuan commune now has 6 cold storage clusters with a capacity of more than 4,000 tons. The fish brought in are classified, washed, placed on trays and put into the supply warehouse. When the fish are "cooked" at a temperature of -50 degrees Celsius, they are transferred to a storage warehouse at a temperature of -15 degrees Celsius to -20 degrees Celsius. The fish are preserved and sold all year round. From the cold storage system, a team of nearly 100 households selling fish has been formed in Nghi Xuan. These are households that make grilled fish, boiled fish, dried fish, etc. The cold storage cluster is the place to provide raw materials for the development of this profession. From the cold storage cluster, along with the service team, with a fleet of more than 40 people, each year brings in an income of about 200 billion VND, accounting for about 15% of the total production value of the commune.

It can be said that logistics services for the marine industry have become a solid rear, giving wings to fleets to go offshore to catch more and more shrimp and fish. In coastal localities, there has long been a close connection between the fishers and the service providers onshore. It is this connection that has created a system of frozen warehouses and "fish brokers" in localities from Quynh Luu to Cua Lo. The frozen warehouse system alone has reached several hundred with reserves of up to thousands of tons. This is the technical infrastructure system that ensures the development of the fishing industry.

The link between exploitation and fishing logistics services has brought great efficiency to all parties. In the development process, it helps the marine industry to be specialized and improve efficiency. However, for a long time, this link has only stopped at individuals. Should we form cooperatives and groups from that link to unify and build plans to improve the efficiency of the marine industry?

Mr. Tuan