Nghe An: Ship 67 returns to sea

After anchoring his ship on shore for 3 consecutive months, fisherman Nguyen Van Phuong, Quynh Phuong ward, Hoang Mai town, decided to bring his iron-hulled ship with registration number NA 99399 TS back to sea to fish.

Mr. Phuong said that after surveying the fishing grounds and seeing more fish than before, the ship left port 5 days ago. “We know that going to sea is not always a win-win. Each trip takes 10-12 days and costs 80 million VND, but we are still bold. If we let the ship stay ashore, the debt to the bank will be even greater. If we are lucky when going to sea, we can pay off the debt to the bank,” Mr. Phuong shared.

After many solutions from the authorities, many fishing boats 67 in Hoang Mai town have returned to sea. Photo: Viet Hung

Thanks to the local government and functional departments of Hoang Mai town promptly understanding the situation of fishermen whose boats are on shore and mobilizing, propagating, and finding solutions to overcome difficulties, up to now, all 12 fishing boats built under Decree 67 of the Government in Hoang Mai town have gone out to sea to fish again.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thuy - Head of the Economic Department of Hoang Mai town said that implementing the Government's 67 ship building project, Quynh Phuong ward has approved 12 67 ship projects for rough net fishing. In the past, not only in Quynh Phuong but most of the fishing boats doing this job were not effective, fishermen let the boats stay ashore. The seafaring profession is completely dependent on the weather, so the exploited products are often unstable. Therefore, recently, the town has mobilized fishermen to search and explore fishing grounds for effective exploitation. Before the 67 boat fleet in Quynh Phuong resumed operations, fishermen contacted fishing boats in Nam Dinh, Quang Binh... and sent one boat out to explore. If there was a catch, it would contact the other boats via Icom.

In addition to the above solution, the State also has a policy to encourage fishermen to fish in the Hoang Sa sea area, with support costs for trips of over 100 million VND/trip.

In Nghi Loc district, fisherman Nguyen Sy Thiet in Phuc Tho commune, after being encouraged by local authorities, in early November took boat 67 back to sea to fish in distant waters.

According to Mr. Thiet’s experience, tuna fishing is effective from November to April next year. Therefore, the recent trips to sea will help him earn more income to pay off his bank loan.

Large-capacity fishing boats of fishermen in Quynh Luu district leave Lach Quen fishing port, one after another going out to sea to exploit seafood. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Through discussion, many 67 ship owners said that because offshore fishing requires the use of many people on board, which requires high salaries, along with other costs such as fuel, food, etc., increasing, so if they do not catch fish, the efficiency will be low. Meanwhile, in recent times, offshore fishing has seen a decrease in seafood resources, and they are often chased away by foreign ships. Therefore, in the months between the second and third quarters of 2018, many fishermen with 67 ships stopped going to sea, leaving their ships on shore. Meanwhile, most ship owners owe billions of dong in bank loans for ship investments.

The assessment of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shows that, in the past time, out of a total of 104 fishing boats in the province, 57 boats were profitable, 17 boats broke even and 30 boats were ineffective.

Quynh Long Quynh Luu fishermen exploiting in the open sea. Photo: PV

Discussing the positive signs when the 67 ships returned to sea, Mr. Tran Huu Tien - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development added: In the face of the situation that many 67 fishing ships are operating inefficiently, staying ashore for months, affecting the lives of fishermen, especially not having money to repay bank loans on time, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development together with relevant levels and sectors continue to encourage, urge, and remove difficulties so that the owners of 67 ships have conditions to operate more effectively. At this time, most of the 67 ships have gone to sea to catch seafood, no longer staying ashore as before.

Every year, fishermen in Quynh Long commune (Quynh Luu) catch over 20,000 tons of seafood. Photo: PV

Fisherman Quynh Phuong has a big catch of cuttlefish. Photo: PV

In Nghe An province, there are 104 ship owners built according to Decree 67/2014/ND-CP. The 67 fishing vessels include the following occupations: 31 squid fishing vessels; 7 trawling vessels; 28 purse seine vessels; 2 logistics service vessels; 31 fishing vessels and logistics service vessels; 5 fishing vessels and logistics service vessels.