Conference to find solutions to improve the efficiency of seafood exploitation

Comrade Phung Duc Tien - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development chaired the conference. Also attending wereComrade Ha Sy Dong - Permanent Vice Chairman of Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee;Representatives of leaders of Departments, Offices, Institutes, Universities under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Fisheries Association and People's Committees of coastal provinces.

On the side of Nghe An province, comrade Nguyen Van De - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee attended and co-chaired the conference. Also attending were representatives of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and its affiliated units.

Reduce exploitation intensity, increase seafood value

At the beginning of the conference, as the host and one of the key provinces in seafood exploitation, comrade Nguyen Van De - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee introduced the potentials and advantages of the province in developing aquaculture and seafood in particular, the results of seafood exploitation activities in recent times, and drastic and synchronous solutions in directingremove EC yellow cardand management of fishing vessels, IUU fishing activities...

According to the report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as of December 31, 2022, the country had a fleet of 86,820 vessels, of which 56,799 were vessels under 15m in length; 30,091 were vessels over 15m in length; the output of aquatic products in 2022 was 3.86 million tons, in the first 3 months of 2023, the output of aquatic products reached 869.4 thousand tons, of which marine exploitation was 829.4 thousand tons, down 0.7% over the same period in 2022.

Up to now, the whole country has announced 80 fishing ports qualified for operation, of which 53 fishing ports are qualified for the system.seafood traceability certification; The whole country has about 1,135 purchasing facilities and 640 cold storages for seafood products, with a capacity of about 78,700 tons...

Fishermen in Quynh Luu district prepare fishing nets and gear for seining. Photo: Nguyen Hai

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien emphasized the significance of organizing this conference as a joint solution of the industry to the common socio-economic difficulties, as well as the country's export situation. Accordingly, during the Covid-19 pandemic, agriculture has affirmed its role as a pillar, ensuring social security for the country. Not only that, in 2022, for the first time, the export turnover of the agricultural sector reached a record of 55 billion USD, of which seafood exports reached 11 billion USD.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien spoke, emphasizing the significance of this conference as an opportunity for the industry and coastal provinces to restructure the fishing industry and develop it in a sustainable manner. Photo: Nguyen Hai

In 2023, the agricultural sector set a target of achieving an export turnover of over 50 billion USD, of which seafood exports exceeded 11 billion USD. However, due to the impact of the economic recession, since the beginning of 2023, export turnover, including agriculture, has decreased sharply. Currently, the marine fisheries sector is being warned with a yellow card by the EC, so it must reduce its exploitation capacity. Therefore, the sector and localities must promptly have solutions to change occupations, open up export sources, invest in modernizing technology and added value, invest in specialized processing, reduce raw processing, etc.

Building a roadmap for sustainable fisheries development

Investing in a fish sauce refining line at Mr. Hoang Duc Thuong's facility - Cua Hoi fish sauce processing village (Cua Lo town). Photo: Nguyen Hai

Also within the framework of this conference, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also deployed key Programs and Projects in the field of fisheries exploitation for the period 2022 - 2025, with a vision to 2030 and 2045. Accordingly, for sustainable development in the field of fisheries exploitation, the Prime Minister issued Decision 1090/QD-TTg dated September 19, 2022 approving the National Program for effective and sustainable fisheries exploitation development for the period 2022-2025, with a vision to 2030; then, recently, together with the organization of the launch of the peak period to remove the EC yellow card for fisheries, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 208/QD-TTg dated March 10, 2023, approving the project.Convert some seafood exploitation occupationsaffecting resources and ecological environment.

Comrade Nguyen Van De - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee visited the high-tech shrimp farming model in Dien Trung commune, Dien Chau district. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Speaking at the discussion, the representative of the Directorate of Fisheries pointed out the difficulties in reducing fishing capacity in the provinces, the situation of fishing vessels being much smaller than the assigned quota, making it difficult to compare when the EC comes to inspect; the regulations and standards for exploitation for each industry are not yet complete; the technology for preserving and processing on ships is still backward, the loss of seafood after catching is still large; the management of fish output at ports is still inadequate...

Currently, to remove the EC yellow card for seafood, our country must reduce marine exploitation output, but to develop the economy and ensure the livelihood of fishermen, the value of seafood must be increased. Therefore, there is no other way but to improve the efficiency of exploitation activities and increase the value of processing; localities must continue to review to develop the fleet and monitor fishing according to the planned sea areas...

(Representative of the Institute of Fisheries Research, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recommends)

Representatives of the Fisheries Research Institute announced the results of the fish stock survey and fishing ground forecast on mass media for fishermen to learn. Photo: Nguyen Hai

At the conference, delegates also listened to reports on the results of resource assessment and forecasting of fishing grounds provided by the Fisheries Research Institute; results of some applications and transfer of advanced technologies in exploitation, processing and post-harvest preservation presented by the National Agricultural Extension Center; reports on the current situation and solutions for developing cooperative models and cooperatives to promote the development of the seafood exploitation supply chain in localities.

Lach Quen fishing port is being upgraded. Photo: Nguyen Hai

Like some provinces, Nghe An presented a speech highlighting the difficulties in reducing the number of vessels and changing occupations, thereby proposing that the Ministry should quickly amend regulations and policies to support fishing vessels, including Decision 48/QD-TTg on supporting fishermen to go offshore and stick to the sea, support policies for building new fishing vessels according to Decree 67/CP and 17/CP; financial supportdredging of silted channelsand build breakwaters at the estuaries.