Difficulties compounded by difficulties, Nghe An fishermen sadly sell off fishing boats

A series of fishing boats of Quynh Lap commune anchored on the shore during the dark moonlit night, because fishermen said they were afraid of losing money. Photo: Quang An

To Quynh Lap communeHoang Mai townNowadays, wherever you sit, you hear fishermen complaining about losses after each fishing trip and about fishermen selling off their fishing boats.

Fisherman Le Ba That in Tan Hai village could not hide his sadness after selling the boat that he had been attached to for 3 years. He said: "I have been attached to the seafaring profession since I was an adult, experiencing many ups and downs in the profession to develop the family economy, but the seafaring profession has never faced such difficulties as now. That is because the price of oil has increased too much,seafarersincreasingly scarce, forcing him to pay high wages, while aquatic resources are increasingly poor. Therefore, since the beginning of the year, every trip to sea for his fishing boat has been a loss.

Unable to survive in the fishing profession anymore, fisherman Le Ba That was forced to sell his fishing boat which he bought 3 years ago for more than 2 billion VND, but was only able to sell it for 800 million VND.

Even if it's cheap, we have to sell it, because if we continue to "hold" the ship, we will lose more money because we cannot hire workers, and even if we go, we will not earn enough to cover expenses. Meanwhile, if the ship is anchored on shore for a long time, it will be damaged and degraded, and no one will buy it.

Since the beginning of the year, dozens of fishermen in Quynh Lap commune have had to sadly sell their fishing boats. Photo: Xuan Hoang

"The fishing boat has been sold, and there is no job to do, so these days I do whatever I am hired to do to earn money to make ends meet. Sometimes I miss my job and the sea that I have been attached to for decades, but I have to accept it, because keeping the boat every day is a loss," said old fisherman Le Ba That.

StoryfishermenQuynh Lap commune has sold fishing boats in a short time, not only Mr. That but also many other boat owners, such as Nguyen Van Vuong, Dau Dinh Khanh, Le Ba Huong... Mr. Le Ba Ky - Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Quynh Lap commune said: The situation of fishermen in the commune selling fishing boats in the past was because the boats were old and dilapidated, but the fishing boats that have been sold since the beginning of the year are all operating normally, there are boats worth 3 - 4 billion VND that fishermen still accept to sell cheaply. According to the list that Mr. Ky has grasped, there have been 8 fishing boats with a capacity of over 90 CV in the commune that had to be sold within the past 2 months. Currently, there are still 2 fishing boats worth over 4 billion VND of fishermen in the commune that are anchored at the port for sale but have not had any buyers, because the price of oil is high so fishermen are not interested in the sea profession.

Currently, the local government is mobilizing some ship owners to hire qualified and experienced fishing workers to maintain a stable workforce of about 130 ships. The peak in 2020 was 161 ships.

The reason fishermen are selling off their fishing boats is because of mounting difficulties and ineffective fishing activities. Oil prices have increased by 30-40% compared to 2021, while seafarers are in short supply and fishing grounds are difficult.

Desolate scene at Quynh Lap fishing port. Photo: Quang An

"A seafarer now has to pay a ship owner 9 million VND/month, while the cost for each sea trip increases by tens of millions of VND, on the contrary, outputseafoodIf the catch does not increase... then the boat owners will find it difficult to survive. However, the local government and the Farmers' Association encourage people to try to keep their boats so that the locality can maintain the profession with 130 boats over 15m for effective offshore fishing, by hiring skilled and experienced workers. There were difficult times in the past, many fishermen sold their boats, but when the sea business was profitable, there was no longer any means to do the job," Mr. Le Ba Ky shared.

It is known that some fishermen in Quynh Luu district have recently sold their fishing boats due to losses, but the number is small, not as many as in Quynh Lap commune.

In the context of rising fuel prices and many other difficulties that greatly affect fishermen's fishing profession at sea, in order to maintain the traditional profession, there is no other way but for fishermen to find solutions to reduce costs, overcome immediate difficulties to increase fishing efficiency, to keep the "fishing rod" to earn a living and contribute to protecting the sea and islands of the Fatherland.

Xuan Hoang - Quang An