Van Lach silted up, fishermen in trouble

(Baonghean) - Recently, Dien Chau fishermen have been extremely worried about the situation of Van creek (Dien Ngoc, Dien Chau) being silted up and dried up when the tide goes down. The consequence is that seafood exploitation, purchasing and processing activities are stagnant and ineffective. Even more dangerous, Van creek will no longer be a safe haven when the sea is rough...

Salvage of stranded fishing boat at the mouth of the inlet.

Fisherman Dau Trong Dat - Yen Quang hamlet, Dien Ngoc (Dien Chau), has been involved in the sea for 6 years, but his 90 CV boat has been stranded twice outside the creek mouth. Rescued by his fellow fishermen in time, only part of the hull was damaged. However, he also had to spend more than 100 million VND to repair it. Mr. Dat recounted: "When the radio reported a storm, we immediately brought the boat back. But when we reached the creek mouth, the boat ran aground, tilted, the waves broke the planks, and the hull broke. Luckily, the young people in the hamlet promptly dredged water, dredged sand, and focused on pulling it, and we were able to escape the disaster."

Not as lucky as Mr. Dat, fisherman Tran Van Tam - Quyet Thang hamlet, Dien Bich commune had to accept losing his boat at the mouth of the creek. In September 2013, his 180 CV boat, worth over 600 million VND, ran aground and capsized at the mouth of the creek, the hull was broken by waves, and all the machinery and fishing gear were buried deep in the sand. All of his assets were put into the fishing boat, causing his family to be in a very difficult situation, falling into a state of heavy debt.

Since being put into use, the pair of offshore vessels with a capacity of over 1,000 CV owned by Mr. Ngo Tri Dong, Dien Ngoc commune, have had to dock at Cua Lo Port because they cannot enter Lach Van Port. Therefore, Mr. Dong has to hire a vehicle to transport seafood to the freezer at Lach Van wharf, which is both time-consuming and costly, and requires a lot of effort to take care of. On average, each year he has to spend over 300 million VND on transportation costs. Mr. Dong shared: "If the channel is deep, ships can enter and exit whenever they want. In the current situation, the channel mouth is seriously silted up, making it very difficult for ships to enter and exit the port, especially during the rainy and stormy season, endangering the property and lives of fishermen...".

Lach Van is the only entrance and exit for fishing boats in Dien Chau. Never before has the mouth of Lach Van been silted up as quickly as in the past 10 years. The silted up mouth of the mouth creates sand bars stretching for dozens of meters, making it increasingly narrower. When the water recedes, it is only less than 1 meter deep, allowing people to wade across. In the past two years, Dien Chau has had 15 large and small ships run aground, and four fishermen have lost their lives at the mouth of the mouth. The lucky ships that made it to shore also had to spend hundreds of millions of dong on repairs, otherwise they would have to lose everything. Not only when entering, but also when going out to sea, fishermen have a hard time. Dozens of fishing boats have had broken propellers and bent shafts due to the shallow channel, having to stay behind for repairs, which takes time and costs millions of dong. Fishermen are suffering double losses.

The Government's VND10,000 billion package to support fishermen in building large-capacity ships has brought hope of changing their lives for Dien Chau fishermen, but everyone has to hesitate and calculate because it is difficult for small ships to enter and exit the canal, let alone building ships with a capacity of 400 CV or more according to State regulations. Dredging and clearing the canal has become a constant desire of Dien Chau fishermen. The People's Committee of Dien Chau district has carried out dredging several times through projects. However, with little funding, dredging is only a temporary solution like "a drop in the ocean" because after a few rains, the canal silts up again. Mr. Phan Xuan Vinh - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dien Chau district said: Van canal mouth is the entrance and exit for fishermen, but due to serious siltation, it affects the property and lives of fishermen. Investing and designing to come up with the most effective solution is difficult because the funding is very large.

The wish of Dien Chau fishermen is to have a clear channel to make fishing less difficult and dangerous, and at the same time fishermen can confidently accept the policy of building offshore ships to go out to sea with large capacity ships.

Mai Giang

Dien Chau Radio and Television Station