Losing tens of millions of dong per fishing trip, many fishing boats in Dien Chau "stay ashore"

It is the main fishing season in the south, the weather is favorable but more than 100 boats, accounting for more than half of the offshore fishing boats of Dien Bich commune (Dien Chau) are all lying idle on the shore. Fuel prices have increased, while seafood output is too low, income is not enough to cover expenses, each trip at sea causes fishermen to lose from 30-50 million VND.

Fisherman Nguyen Van Tuan is sad when his fishing business is losing money. Photo: Mai Giang

Fisherman Nguyen Van Tuan - Chien Thang hamlet, Dien Bich commune shared: After 3 months of the southern fishing season, his boat only made 3 trips and lost all 3. His boat fished up to the 107th meridian but still had no fish. With no other choice, Mr. Tuan had to go to Da Nang to work for another boat, earning a few hundred a day.

Half a year has passed but Dien Bich's fishing output has only reached 2,500 tons, equal to 25% of the yearly plan.

With the difficulty of catching seafood lasting from 2018 to the 2019 southern season, Dien Bich fishermen are struggling.

The number of boats with signs for sale is increasing. Accordingly, 7 boats with 400 horsepower have been sold. With the strong development of the offshore fleet, it is estimated that Dien Bich fishermen are borrowing 63 billion VND from banks and are almost at the repayment date but cannot pay.

Fishing boats "staying ashore" for long periods of time, fishermen also have to regularly check to avoid damage and water intrusion. Photo: Mai Giang

To avoid damage due to being on shore for a long time, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang, Quyet Thanh hamlet, had to cover the 400 CV boat with a tarpaulin to wait for sale. Her husband, the boat owner, has had to change jobs for more than a month now. Ms. Hang said: 2 years ago, the boat was built for 1.5 billion VND, but since then it has not been able to make a profit. Now, the boat cannot be sold, nor can it be put to sea to exploit, because of high oil prices and labor difficulties. The bank loan interest is due and cannot be paid.

Not only large capacity vessels, but also many small capacity vessel owners fishing in the open sea are also facing difficulties. Therefore, the atmosphere at Lach Van fishing port these days is quite quiet. Many vessels dock with stacks of empty trays, or just a few small fish. Many traditional seafood species of the southern season with high value are absent this year. Most of them are trash fish with low value, so traders have more room to squeeze prices.

The weather is favorable but many large fishing boats of Dien Bich commune are still "staying ashore". Photo: Mai Giang

The target for exploiting seafood in the southern season of 2019 in Dien Chau district is 19,000 tons (accounting for more than half of the year's output). However, with what is happening, it is very difficult to achieve the plan when there are only about 2 months left until the end of the southern fishing season.

Since the beginning of the year, 60 fishing boats, large and small, have been sold and the number is still growing. Difficulty in fishing has forced many boat owners to change their fishing methods, from offshore to nearshore to save fuel and labor, but they are still violating the fishing regulations.

Mr. Phan Xuan Vinh - Vice Chairman of Dien Chau District People's Committee said: It is not uncommon for Dien Chau fishermen to lose tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dong on their fishing trips. While fishermen are having difficulty catching seafood and oil prices are rising, should there be a support policy to help people stick to their jobs and the sea?

Fisherman Dien Bich hangs a sign to sell his fishing boat due to loss of income. Photo: Mai Giang