Lesson 5: Let fishermen stay at sea...

(Baonghean) -We arrived in Quynh Luu on the day the northeast monsoon changed, the sea was rough, and boats lined up one after another, filling up the Lach Quen fishing port. Fresh, sparkling green mackerel and scad were brought ashore while traders waited. Although the Party and the State have paid much attention to the fishermen’s lives, the lives of those who depend on the sea are still full of difficulties.

Mr. Ho Sy Trung - Hoa Binh hamlet, Quynh Nghia commune shared: “My whole life is attached to the sea, living with the sea, eating with the sea and sleeping with the sea. This year I turn 64 years old but every day I still go fishing to earn a living. After more than 30 years of hard work offshore, the assets I have saved are to raise my children, life is not abundant. For more than 30 years now I have had to go with others, my whole life is at sea but I cannot accumulate capital to share a part of the ship (building a ship worth 2 - 4 billion VND). Therefore, I am very disadvantaged, people who have capital to build a ship, after each trip back from the sea, get to share 4-5 times more, but I only get a part. Therefore, we are always poor, just enough to eat. My wife has been attached to a dilapidated bicycle to go to the market to sell fish for decades.

Fisherman Ho Van Tuyen - Hoa Binh hamlet, Quynh Nghia commune said: "When I was 17 years old, my father let me go fishing with my uncles and brothers. On the first day out to sea, the waves made me feel dizzy, I thought I would never be able to step foot on a fishing boat again. But then, four generations of my family had no other occupation than fishing at sea. I was lucky to inherit my father's share of the boat, so life was less difficult than my peers. I wished to have some capital to build my own boat and start my own business."

Transporting fish for consumption (Lach Quen fishing port - Quynh Luu)

Mr. Nguyen Van Ke - Chairman of the Association of Fisheries in Tien Thuy Commune, Quynh Luu said: "Tien Thuy is a locality that develops the key fish exploitation profession of Quynh Luu district. The commune has Lach Quen fishing port serving the boats of fishermen from 4 communes including Tien Thuy, Quynh Nghia, Quynh Long, An Hoa, with over 700 vehicles. In recent years, the local Party Committee and government have considered fish exploitation as a key industry and also a traditional profession of the commune. Currently, the whole commune of Tien Thuy has 346 ships and boats with a total capacity of 53,983 CV, with nearly 2,000 workers directly exploiting at sea. In 2011 alone, Tien Thuy fishermen boldly invested more than 100 billion VND to build 30 new large ships, with a capacity of 400 - 600 CV/ship, with an average value of 3.5 - 4 billion VND/ship".

Tien Thuy is a densely populated commune, with almost no agricultural land, so people's lives mainly depend on fishing. Thanks to the development of fishing, fishing logistics services such as ice, purchasing, repairing, mechanics, building new boats... in the commune have also developed, creating jobs and income for thousands of workers. In recent years, thanks to the application of scientific and technological advances, modern machinery and equipment... risks for fishermen in the process of going offshore have been limited. At the same time, fishermen's lives have been significantly improved thanks to increased catch, the average income of fishing workers has reached 35 - 40 million VND/year. Thanks to the State's policy of paying attention to the fishing industry, it has partly supported fishermen in difficult times. In 2008, implementing support for fuel, interest, job conversion... according to Decision 289/CP of the Government, fishermen in Tien Thuy commune received a total support amount of over 10 billion VND. In 2009, support for fishermen was about 1.3 billion VND. In 2010, Nghe An Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 10/2010.

Accordingly, interest support after investment in new construction, support for job conversion, support for training captains and chief engineers, hull and crew insurance, support for communication, life buoys... for fishermen. In 2010, Tien Thuy fishermen were supported with about 1.3 billion VND. This year, 270 million VND was supported for 5 newly built ships, 195 sets of life buoys, 3 long-range communication devices, 2 training classes for captains and chief engineers. However, many households building new ships have not yet enjoyed the State's policies. To build a large ship capable of going offshore, fishermen must invest 3 - 4 billion VND. 10 people have to mortgage 8 - 10 land titles of all members in the group, the bank can only lend a maximum of 800 million VND, the rest is mainly paid by the fishermen themselves.

Currently, Lach Quen fishing port still has 2 reefs, making it difficult for boats to enter and exit when the water is low. The riverbed is narrow, there are many vehicles, and on low tide days, boats entering the port often collide, causing damage and loss. Every year, there are cases of fishermen's boats being punctured by reefs, sinking, running aground, or getting stuck on rocks, causing damage to the machinery, requiring salvage, which is very expensive. Fishermen hope that the province will pay attention and soon create conditions to remove the reefs so that fishermen can avoid losses.

Talking to us, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh - Head of the Department of Agriculture of Quynh Luu district said: The whole district of Quynh Luu has more than 2,100 large and small boats, of which 836 boats are over 90 CV, the rest are small boats fishing near the shore. With more than 11,000 workers in the district working in seafood exploitation. Just counting the exploited products in 2011, the whole district reached 32,000 tons of fish, shrimp, squid... with a production value of about 1,000 billion VND. However, the exploitation sector is highly risky, to go offshore requires large ships and large engines. Fishermen who want to go offshore must invest 2 - 4 billion VND to build large boats. But currently the credit policy is very difficult, banks do not want to lend to fishermen to build new boats. People have to borrow from outside to do it, with high interest rates. To develop offshore fishing, high value fishing, associated with protecting national sovereignty over seas and islands, a credit policy mechanism is needed for fishermen so that they can access capital to invest in building new boats. In addition, fishermen need support for boat insurance when they encounter risks at sea.

The maritime strategy should consider fishermen as a central target, for fishermen and for the sovereignty of the sea and islands. Good policies for fishermen, especially credit policies, are also not outside of that purpose.

Quynh Lan