Fishermen in the Central region have a 'bumper season' of catching seafood

(Baonghean.vn) - The Central Sea has become cleaner after the environmental incident in 2016. Currently, fishermen in the provinces are actively going out to sea with good fishing seasons.

Nghe An coastal fishermen are excited about high-yield fishing trips and are purchased as soon as they reach the port. Photo: Viet Hung

Particularly in the sea area of ​​Nghe An and the Gulf of Tonkin, which are outside the polluted area caused by Formosa, the consumption of seafood products by fishermen remains stable, seafood fishing is still taking place normally, and the catch has increased quite a bit.

At the end of 2016, Mr. Nguyen Kim Duong - a fisherman of Manh Son parish, Tien Thuy commune (Quynh Luu - Nghe An) was happy when a boat with a capacity of over 800CV built according to Decree 67 was launched. His first trips to sea in the year were a big success with many high-value seafood. Right from the first trip of the year, the boat caught more than 1 ton of exported hairtail fish, 1 ton of pomfret fish, with a revenue of nearly 300 million VND. Photo by Viet Hung

Currently, the vibrant seafood market has created more motivation for fishermen to be more confident in their hands and actively go offshore to exploit for the highest efficiency. In the first months of 2017, thousands of fishing boats of Nghe An fishermen went offshore with high output. In particular, the high price of seafood purchased has encouraged fishermen to firmly hold their nets to go offshore. Many seafood sources such as hairtail, grouper, mackerel, anchovy... in Nghe An sea area are purchased by traders, processed and exported.

Mr. Le Van Hung - Director of the Center for Natural Resources and Environment Monitoring (Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Nghe An) said: "The Center has been performing well the assigned tasks such as: Monitoring the quality of coastal seawater in Nghe An; Archiving documents, monitoring data, updating data into the national environmental monitoring data system. In 2016, after the environmental incident caused by Formosa, in the first phase, we organized seawater monitoring once a day, then extended to once every 2 days; once a week and once a month, all stored data showed that the indicators of Nghe An sea ensure safety thresholds. That not only helps fishermen feel secure going to sea but is also an important factor for consumers to feel secure about seafood sources".

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In Ha Tinh, in the first days of the year, fishermen from Nghi Xuan, Loc Ha, Cam Xuyen districts... went out to catch seafood and brought back many croakers, anchovies, hairtails, flower fish, and shrimp... Favorable weather, abundant fishing grounds, and high prices are good signs for people to feel secure going out to sea and sticking to the sea... In particular, fishermen have received the second round of compensation, so they have more resources to invest in fishing gear for the new fishing season.

Seafood prices have increased, anchovy has increased 3 times; pomfret and flower fish have also doubled, so fishermen are willing to stay at sea. Fisherman Le Phung (Hoi Thuy hamlet, Nghi Xuan commune, Ha Tinh) said: "Before Tet, anchovy was only sold for 50,000 VND/kg, but at the beginning of the year it was up to 160,000 VND; hairtail was only 30,000 VND before, now it has increased to 50,000 VND/kg... Prices have increased so much that as soon as seafood is brought to shore, traders buy it all."

Ha Tinh fishermen caught a lot of anchovies, which were bought by traders as soon as the boats docked. Photo: Ha Tinh Newspaper

In Quang Binh province, according to Mr. Le Van Loi - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, up to now, the whole province has had over 700 nearshore fishing boats going out to sea and about 100 offshore fishing boats (mainly operating in trap nets, trawl nets and drag nets) right after Tet, from the 4th day have gone out to sea. In particular, many nearshore fishing boats of Hai Ninh commune (Quang Ninh), Ngu Thuy commune (Le Thuy) in the past few days have had a bumper seafood harvest, bringing a significant source of income to fishermen in the coastal areas at the beginning of the year.

Of which, the marine exploitation output in Quang Binh is estimated at 2,192 tons, equal to 96% compared to the same period; mainly fish of all kinds 1,890 tons, equal to 98.5%; shrimp of all kinds 32.6 tons, equal to 74%; other aquatic products 270 tons, equal to 85% compared to the same period. The weather forecast in February is favorable, fishermen receive compensation so they are excited to go to sea, the fishing output will increase.

Fishermen of offshore fishing vessels are preparing food and provisions to set sail for the new 2017 fishing season at Cua Gianh Anchorage. Photo: Quang Binh Newspaper

Fishing fleets in the central provinces simultaneously set sail to catch seafood. This activity also boosted the fishing logistics service industry to become vibrant again. The system of seafood drying facilities, fish sauce processing villages, cold storages, shipbuilding workshops, mechanical workshops, ice shops, etc., with workers working continuously, created a working and excited atmosphere at the beginning of the new year.

PV