Seafood sorting house built then… abandoned
(Baonghean.vn) - Although it was invested in and built on a modern scale, for the past 3 years, the Seafood Classification House at Cua Hoi fishing port has been abandoned because no one has come to do business or trade.
Great project!
Seafood sorting house is part of the upgrade and expansion project.Cua Hoi fishing portapproved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Decision 3645/QD-BNN-TCTS dated September 9, 2015 with a total approved investment of up to 107 billion 560,417 million VND. Besides hydraulic works (wharf, embankment), the Seafood Classification House is considered an important architectural infrastructure in the port service system.
 |
| Seafood sorting house seen from the wharf of Cua Hoi port. Photo: Tien Dong |
According to the investment decision, the Seafood Classification House of Cua Hoi fishing port is included in package 9 of the project to upgrade and expand Cua Hoi fishing port. This project is invested byNghe An Department of Agriculture and Rural Developmentas the investor. This project is implemented to upgrade and expand Cua Hoi fishing port in a synchronous manner, meeting the criteria of a type 1 fishing port, and ensuring the need for loading and unloading aquatic products exploited in the fishing grounds of the Gulf of Tonkin, providing fishing logistics services, contributing to the development of the fishing industry and socio-economic development for local fishermen.
 |
| The seafood sorting house was newly invested but has been abandoned for several years. Photo: Tien Dong |
The project is aimed at serving the volume of seafood products through the port designed from 15,000 tons/year or more; Meeting the reception capacity for fishing vessels with capacity up to 800 CV and 120 vessels/day or more.
There are 2 types of seafood classification houses, of which type 1 seafood classification house is built 72m long, 15m wide, with a total area of 1,080m2.2, 1-storey steel frame house structure, heat-resistant corrugated iron roof. The house is equipped with an electric lighting system, a fish washing water supply system and a fish washing table (the surface is covered with stainless steel panels). The house for receiving and classifying type 2 seafood is 32m long, 7m wide, and has an area of 224m2.2, 1-storey steel frame structure, heat-resistant corrugated iron roof.
 |
| After completion, the seafood sorting house became a place to park vehicles and gather fishing gear. Photo: Tien Dong |
On July 4, 2019, the project was accepted and put into use, but since then, not a single person has entered the project to trade or classify fish. Instead, seafood from fishermen's boats after returning to the port is transported to a private fishing port located about 100m to the south.
Lots of movement but no one is classy
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoi, a small trader in the Cua Hoi fishing port area, said that since the completion of the Seafood Classification House, the Fishing Port Management Board has also been mobilizing people to switch to trading, but no one has come over.
According to Ms. Hoi, the reason is that people doing business here are used to it, and moving there would be inconvenient, because each stall is just a stainless steel table next to each other, while the seafood gathered must be classified, stored in a refrigerated truck, and there must be a large space for arrangement, loading and unloading...
 |
| Although the Cua Hoi Fishing Port Management Board has repeatedly campaigned and provided support, people still do not switch to seafood sorting houses. Photo: Tien Dong |
It is known that the sideCua Hoi Fishing Port Management Boardhave campaigned many times, even supported people with electricity, water and other fees to help them switch, but for the past 3 years since the Seafood Classification House was officially handed over, not a single person has entered the seafood classification and trading business.
Mr. Nguyen Van Huong - Vice Chairman of Nghi Hai Ward People's Committee (Cua Lo Town), where the Seafood Sorting House is located, said: Cua Hoi fishing port area is located in the land managed by the ward and part of Cua Hoi port land. This area is assigned by the ward to the Hai Giang 2 Veterans Association in coordination with Khang Huy Private Enterprise to manage and operate according to an annual contract.
 |
| While the seafood sorting house is deserted, activities at the private Cua Hoi fishing port are still quite busy. Photo: Tien Dong |
Mr. Huong also said that this fishing port area usually operates early in the morning, from 3am - when the boats start to return to the port, until around 8-9am, when people have finished sorting the fish and traders move the fish to other places to sell. Whether people move to the Seafood Sorting House or not, the local government cannot force them.
According to our observations, Cua Hoi fishing port has about 100 trading households. To facilitate the storage of fish, many households have taken advantage of old refrigerated trucks as storage areas.
 |
| Many businesses use old refrigerated trucks as places to store seafood. Photo: Tien Dong |
Mr. Phan Tien Chuong - Director of Nghe An Fishing Port Management Board said: The seafood classification house was completed around 2017, and the handover was not until 2019. Although the Fishing Port Management Board has had many policies to mobilize people to operate, no one has come. Faced with this situation, Mr. Chuong also said that in the near future, he will propose to the Department to allow changing the purpose of use to suit the needs and actual situation./.