The flag, the milestone in the middle of the ocean
In Quynh Lap commune (Hoang Mai town), fishing for seafood is a traditional occupation that has been passed down through many generations; fishing is closely linked to the tides and the moon, so village and hamlet activities or Party activities are also flexible according to each trip out to sea. From that reality, the Fisheries Association Party Cell was born - becoming the political nucleus, gathering party members who are fishermen going out to sea, both developing the economy and protecting the sovereignty of the homeland's sea and islands.
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Khanh Ly • March 30, 2025
In Quynh Lap commune (Hoang Mai town), fishing for seafood is a traditional occupation that has been passed down through many generations; fishing is closely linked to the tides and the moon, so village and hamlet activities or Party activities are also flexible according to each trip out to sea. From that reality, the Fisheries Association Party Cell was born - becoming the political nucleus, gathering party members who are fishermen going out to sea, both developing the economy and protecting the sovereignty of the homeland's sea and islands.
Party activities on "moon" holiday
Visiting Quynh Lap commune on a calm sea day, long lines of boats were anchored close together at the "moonlight" wharf. Having just returned from a long sea trip, Mr. Phan Van Hai - Secretary of the Fisheries Association Party Cell was busy preparing the content for the regular meeting of the Party Cell.
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Chatting with us on the boat with the national flag fluttering in the wind, the man with a kind face and tanned skin typical of fishermen in coastal areas said: The Fisheries Association Party Cell is a special grassroots party organization with 100% of party members being fishermen who regularly go to sea to exploit seafood in different fishing grounds (on average, there are 15-20 days at sea per month).
To maintain order and create conditions for party members to participate fully, the Party Cell often chooses the meeting day during the "moon break" (this is the time when fishing boats often anchor because the moon is bright and they cannot catch fish). The meeting place usually takes place in the meeting room of the Commune People's Committee.
In addition, depending on the situation, the Party Committee flexibly organizes direct activities combined with online activities via phone and Zalo connection for some party members who are fishing in distant fishing grounds and have not returned in time. In special and unexpected cases, the content that needs to be disseminated to party members will be announced via walkie-talkie.
Although the Party Cell held its activities during the "moon" holiday, it fully implemented the contents as prescribed: Assessing the local situation, the Party Cell's implementation of tasks during the month; disseminating the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws; especially grasping the ideological situation of Party members, discussing policies directly related to the fishermen's lives.
"Due to the nature of the seafaring profession, fishing party members have little access to current news, so it requires the Party Committee to be proactive and sensitive in grasping the situation to promptly update and fully inform party members. The way of transmission and expression must also be concise, easy to receive, easy to understand, with viewpoints and opinions on issues of public concern to guide party members - Party Cell Secretary Phan Van Hai emphasized.
Also at the boat mooring area, we met Mr. Tran Dinh Hanh (born in 1978) - Owner of the NA 92868 boat, capacity 680 CV, a party member at the Fisheries Association Party Cell. He happily said: "I was honored to be admitted to the party in 2010, the only party member on a fishing boat with 10 workers.
Previously, I and other fisherman party members participated in activities in village party cells, but many times we were absent from the activities due to long trips to distant fishing grounds and not being able to return on time. Although the Party Committee still created favorable conditions, in reality, this problem affected the quality of activities and discipline of the party cells and other party members.
Since the establishment of the Fisheries Association Party Cell, Party activities are arranged according to the lunar calendar, creating conditions for Party members like me to participate more fully in activities. In case of force majeure, we can attend "online" activities with content close to the story of production and exploitation at sea, so Party members are all excited to participate in discussions and contribute ideas...".
According to the leaders of Quynh Lap commune, the local Fisheries Association was established in 2008 with about 170 members, mainly boat owners, with the aim of gathering individuals and organizations operating in the fields of aquaculture, exploitation, processing, consumption and fisheries logistics to support and help each other in offshore fishing, production, business and services. Many fishermen in the Fisheries Association are party members active in village and hamlet party cells.
However, in reality, the work of managing party members, organizing activities of party committees at all levels, participating in party members' activities as well as mobilizing and propagating the party's guidelines and policies, the state's laws, and the work of detecting, training and recruiting fishermen to join the party... encountered many difficulties and shortcomings because every month, fishing party members spend at least 15 days at sea.
Based on practical requirements and in response to the aspirations of fishermen, the Fisheries Association Party Cell was established with 15 party members according to Decision No. 45-QD/DU dated July 21, 2021 of the Quynh Lap Commune Party Committee. This is the first pilot party cell model in Nghe An province.reserved for party members who directly fish for long periods at sea, with the expectation that the party cell will not only be a pioneer but also a factor connecting fishermen at the forefront, together developing the economy and protecting the sovereignty of the Fatherland's sea and islands.
Deputy Secretary of the Quynh Lap Commune Party Committee, Vuong Dai Tuong, added: The establishment of the Fisheries Association Party Cell helps fishermen who are Party members to promptly access and better propagate the Party's policies and the State's laws; strengthen solidarity and mutual support in fishing, search and rescue, and protection of national sovereignty.
At the same time, create conditions for rural Party cells to proactively hold activities on time according to Party regulations, overcoming the situation of Party members being absent from many activities when going to sea. To support the Party cell's activities, the Quynh Lap Party Committee assigned comrades Le Ba Van - Standing Committee member, Chairman of the Fatherland Front; Truong Cong Vu - Executive Committee member, Chairman of the Farmers' Association to be in charge of the Fisheries Association Party Cell.
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At first, there were some concerns, but since its establishment, the Fisheries Association Party Cell has maintained a regular monthly activity regime appropriate to the characteristics and situation of exploitation and fishing at sea.
The Party Committee and Party Cell also pay attention to and take care of the training and development of new Party members. From the initial 15 Party members, the Party Cell has now admitted 3 new Party members, bringing the total number of Party members to 17. Of these, 8 Party members are ship owners and 5 Party members are captains.
According to the Party Committee of the Fisheries Association, the work of developing the Party among fishing members is difficult due to the characteristics of the sea area where fishermen often drop out of school early and have limited awareness. Some outstanding people cannot attend all the Party sympathy training courses and only study 2/3 of the time, then ask for documents to research and write the report to submit later because they have to go out to sea with the ship. On the other hand, the Party Committee does not have a mass organization, so when introducing outstanding people, it must coordinate with the Fisheries Association and the village Party Committees.
To overcome difficulties, the Fisheries Association Party Cell has stepped up propaganda and mobilization work, helping the fishermen - who are used to "eating waves and talking wind" - to clearly understand their rights and responsibilities when joining the Party.
At the same time, party members in the cell also promote the spirit of pioneering and setting good examples so that the masses who are fishing association members can see the good and positive things when becoming party members.
In addition, the Party Committee of the Fisheries Association also regularly maintains contact with the Party Committee of the residential area to grasp the local situation and coordinate in the work of training elite masses to create a source for the Party. The Party Committee also requires Party members to be exemplary in fulfilling their obligations to the State and the locality, and not to be far from the movements and activities in the residential area.
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Thanks to that, since its establishment, the Party cell has trained and enlightened young fishermen to join the Party. A typical example is comrade Le Ba Tien (born 2003), with his volunteer spirit, actively participating in activities at the Fisheries Association Party Cell and the locality, who was trained and admitted to the Party by the Fisheries Association Party Cell in September 2024.
For young fishermen like Tien, it is an honor, pride, and also a motivation for young party members to rise up and become pioneering, exemplary "locomotives", and centers of solidarity in the middle of the ocean.
Resolution based on reality
Assessing the quality of activities of the Fisheries Association Party Cell, comrade Ho Canh Thuan - Secretary of the Quynh Lap Commune Party Committee said: Although there are still some difficulties related to studying the Resolution of the Party members of the Fisheries Association Party Cell, they cannot fully participate or some tasks that the Party Committee deploys are slower than those of the village and hamlet Party Cells... However, in the past time, the Commune Fisheries Association Party Cell has properly performed the functions and tasks of a grassroots party organization, helping party members who are fishermen and crew members to fully participate in Party activities.
The Party cell also becomes a “bridge” between the Party Committee, the government and fishermen. In particular, the Party cell closely follows reality to issue and effectively implement the Resolution, both developing the marine economy and actively protecting the sovereignty of the sea and island borders of the Fatherland.
Accordingly, the Resolution of the Fisheries Association Party Cell aims at 5 specific goals, which are: Doing well the work of developing the Party; participating in search and rescue at sea; sharing fishing grounds; observing and collecting evidence of foreign fishing vessels violating sovereignty and promptly reporting to the authorities; raising awareness and responsibility of fishermen in protecting the marine environment.
With the motto "Party cell is the locomotive, party members are the core" for fishermen and fishermen to follow, after more than 3 years of operation, Quynh Lap Fisheries Association Party Cell has actively propagated to fishing vessels in the area not to engage in illegal fishing (IUU); to properly implement the Law on Fisheries, the Law on Vietnam Border Guard, and the Law on National Borders.
At the same time, coordinate with the government to mobilize ship owners to establish 8 cooperative groups and 36 discussion groups to help each other in seafood exploitation and find new fishing grounds. In particular, the Party cell's policy of sharing fishing grounds has been welcomed and responded to by the fishermen party members and the majority of members of the fisheries association.
Talking about this policy, Secretary of the Fisheries Association Party Cell Phan Van Hai (who is also the owner of 7 fishing boats with a capacity of 600 horsepower and more than 40 workers, with an average income of 12-20 million VND/person/month) said: If in the past everyone did their own thing, now in the offshore fishing process, if a good fishing area is discovered, the boats will proactively notify each other via walkie-talkie to exploit together.
Sharing fishing grounds demonstrates the spirit of solidarity, attachment and mutual support among Party members and fisheries association members. Thanks to that, the work of mobilizing fishermen to go offshore has been well implemented, thereby promoting the strengths of the locality, contributing to maintaining the annual output of Quynh Lap coastal commune at over 30,000 tons.
During the process of fishing in the far seas of Hoang Sa Fishing Ground, the boats of the Party members of the Fisheries Association Party Cell always raise awareness of protecting the sovereignty of the homeland's sea and islands; proactively detect and record videos of foreign fishing vessels violating Vietnam's territorial waters to promptly provide information to the Border Guard and Coast Guard (in the two years 2023-2024, the boats of the Party members in the cell detected 16 cases of foreign vessels violating sovereignty and reported them to the authorities).
The Party cell also mobilized 31 members and fishermen to join the maritime militia platoon with 3 fleets and 3 self-governing groups to ensure security and safety at sea.
Understanding the hardships, difficulties and dangers of ships going out to sea when facing big waves and strong winds, the work of rescue, relief and support for fellow sailors at sea has always been of special concern to the Party Cell of the Fisheries Association. In the past 3 years, fishing boats of fishermen party members of the Quynh Lap Fisheries Association Party Cell have towed 2 sunken fishing boats in Quynh Phuong and Quynh Tien to shore safely; and helped 3 houses damaged by landslides due to storms and rains.
In addition, to limit the habit of throwing garbage from ships, which affects the marine environment, threatens ecological species, and reduces marine resources, the Quynh Lap Commune Fisheries Association has actively pioneered implementation, and at the same time encouraged fishing boat owners not to throw garbage into the sea but to classify and organize garbage collection to bring it ashore. Accordingly, every year, fishermen in the commune have classified and collected 70-80 tons of plastic waste, cans, etc., contributing to protecting the marine environment.
Speaking at the conference to review the pilot establishment of the Fisheries Association Party Cell, comrade Hoang Nghia Hieu - Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council emphasized: The Quynh Lap Fisheries Association Party Cell must become a spiritual support for fishermen to go offshore, stay at sea, actively support each other in exploitation, fishing, support in avoiding and sheltering from storms, in search and rescue. Cadres and party members should raise awareness of building and overcoming difficulties to build an increasingly strong Party Cell.
That is also the goal that the Fisheries Association Party Cell has been striving towards so that "each party member is a flag, each boat is a living milestone" at sea...
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