Cua Lo fishermen bring trash from their boats to shore to keep the sea clean.

Pioneers in "bringing trash to shore"

Mr. Phung Ba Thu, a veteran fisherman with over 30 years of experience at sea. For him, the sea not only provides shrimp and fish, feeding many people and generations of fishermen, but it is also his home, his homeland, and is closely connected to each fisherman.

“Following my father and brother to sea since the age of 15, I have been involved in this profession for more than 30 years. I spend more time at sea than at home. Therefore, the sea is not only a place to earn a living but also something close and intimate, like flesh and blood,” Mr. Thu shared.

On each trip out to sea, in addition to fishing gear, there are food and drinks: beer, soft drinks, candy, instant noodles, vegetables, fruits... to serve as food and provisions during the days drifting at sea. Bottles, cans, milk cartons, plastic bags... after each use are thrown into the sea, carried away by the water. Organic waste can still decompose, but solid waste and plastic waste float far away, until big waves and strong winds gather them and wash them ashore.

“It’s all due to the habit of ‘throwing away whatever is convenient’. I thought the ocean was so vast that throwing away bottles and plastic bags wouldn’t cause any harm. Besides, a can only costs a few hundred dong, so I didn’t feel sorry for throwing it away. However, plastic waste does not decompose and gradually accumulates into a giant mountain of garbage in the ocean. During the rainy and stormy season, when the sea is rough, the garbage is washed ashore by the waves, with some garbage streams stretching for dozens of kilometers,” said Phung Ba Thu.

Garbage pollutes the marine environment, unbalances the marine ecosystem and reduces the habitat of seafood. This is also the reason why shrimp, fish and squid resources are no longer as abundant and rich as before.

Not to mention, there are times when the trash floats on the water surface, gets caught in the propellers, gets caught in the net, causing the net to tear, which is not only unsafe but also requires replacing the net, which is quite expensive. This makes Mr. Thu very worried.

As a fishing boat owner, he instructs his crew to sort their garbage on board. Accordingly, organic waste is put in a separate bin, while plastic waste (beer cans, soft drinks, plastic bags, plastic boxes, etc.) is collected in another bin.

Then, they gathered and brought them back to shore. At first, it was hard to change because of ingrained habits, but gradually, people reminded each other and did it together, so it became a habit.

“Our two boats alone have 20 crew members. Each trip produces about 30 cans, 15-20 plastic bags, and 10 milk cartons. All of them are collected, put in mesh bags, and placed on top of the boat. After about 7-10 days, they are brought ashore, sold as scrap, and the proceeds are used to support crew members in difficulty,” said Mr. Thu.

The collection of scrap has been carried out by Mr. Thu's fleet for the past 5 years. In addition to the economic value of about 4-5 million VND per year from selling scrap and giving gifts to disadvantaged crew members, the most important thing is that this captain has changed the habit of recycling waste and the behavior of crew members towards the sea.

Clean at sea, warm on shore

Nghi Thuy Ward, Cua Lo Town has 96 boats, of which 41 are offshore fishing boats. Seafood exploitation creates jobs for more than 600 local workers. Each trip out to sea can last 1-2 days, sometimes 3-4 days, the amount of waste from each boat with 10-15 crew members is not small.

If everything is thrown into the sea, day after day, the problem of plastic waste and marine pollution will appear before our eyes. From the pioneering work of Mr. Phung Ba Thu, we realize that propagandizing and mobilizing fishermen to keep the marine environment clean by the practical act of collecting solid waste and bringing it to shore is something that "must be done immediately".

Therefore, the ward's fisheries association coordinated with the Farmers' Association and the Women's Association to launch the model of "Collecting solid waste from the sea to the shore", implementing the movement "Keep scrap, do not discharge into the sea, exchange money on shore, support the poor".

Accordingly, all ships classify garbage and bring it to shore. “On average, a crew member uses 1 can of beer per day, so a fleet of 2 ships has 20 cans, not to mention the days when they have a big catch, a bumper trip, and when the crew celebrates, the amount of cans is 4-5 times more.

If we just throw it into the sea like that, it will be very dangerous. Since we started bringing the garbage to shore, on average, each ship can sell about 300,000-500,000 VND worth of scrap a week," said Phung Ba Hung, a crew member.

All the scrap, after collecting a fair amount, will be gathered on shore and sold. The money collected will be used to support sailors in need and buy gifts for the poor in the ward.

“If plastic waste is thoroughly collected from fishing vessels, we will earn about 40 million VND each year. In addition to changing fishermen's habits, contributing to protecting the marine environment, and the revenue from scrap on fishing vessels, we will have a significant source of funding to better implement social security work in the area. The locality is considering and evaluating to expand this model to 96 fishing vessels in the area,” said Mr. Nguyen Tien Loi - Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Nghi Thuy Ward.

The ship docked, the holds full of fish and shrimp were transferred to shore and sold to traders. The crew was busy cleaning the ship, garbage was gathered and dumped in the right place.

Mr. Nguyen Dac Quyen - a fisherman in Nghi Thuy ward said: "Nowadays, whenever I see rubbish floating on the sea surface, I feel uncomfortable and have to find a net to scoop it up. Ropes, torn nets, and other types of waste, too, should not be thrown away carelessly but collected, sorted, and brought to shore. Keeping the sea clean is also keeping a sustainable livelihood for fishermen like us."