Quynh Luu: Shallow waterways, many fishermen want to quit their jobs

(Baonghean)Quynh Luu has favorable days for going to sea, but at the ports and estuaries, many fishing boats from Son Hai, Quynh Di, and Tien Thuy communes are stranded. In addition to the reason for losing money at sea due to high oil prices, the channels and estuaries are shallow and have not been dredged for many years, forcing many boat owners to sell their boats at a loss...

Mr. Nguyen Duc Xan - a long-time captain of Phu Loi 1 hamlet, Quynh Di - Quynh Luu said: Every time going out to sea or returning to port is a difficult journey, both wasting energy and damaging property. Quynh Di has 2 hamlets specializing in seafood exploitation, Phu Loi 1 and Phu Loi 2, with 68 offshore fishing boats. However, the commune does not have a fishing port, so the returning boats have to go through Quynh Phuong wharf, under Con bridge, deep into Hoang Mai river. But Con bridge is too low, the boats cannot enter when the tide is high, and they have to wait for the water to recede. If they wait at the wrong time, the water will be too low and touch the river bottom, getting stuck with the people's bottom traps. Hoang Mai river is no different from a shallow creek. It is not easy every time going out to sea or returning to port.



Thoi Lach is too shallow, many fishing boats cannot go out to sea.

In Quynh Luu, while most coastal communes have docks, Quynh Di does not have any while there is no agricultural land in the two hamlets Phu Loi 1 and Phu Loi 2, people still have to rely on the sea. It is too hard, many people advised Mr. Xuan to quit his job, he had to sell his boat once, switch to making fish sauce. Then he built another boat to continue to have the cheapest source of raw materials for his family to do the job, moreover, the job is passed down from father to son and cannot be abandoned. Not only Mr. Xan, Mr. Hoang Duc Luc's boat in Quynh Di also had to sell because of many difficulties, both in fishing grounds and waterways.

Son Hai commune has 173 offshore fishing boats, with a total capacity of 32,500 CV. Son Hai fishermen mainly work at sea with purse seining and squid fishing. The day we were in Son Hai was the 4th day of the lunar month, but dozens of fishing boats were lying on the shore, some of which had been lying for a long time and were dilapidated. The creek was so shallow that the bottom was exposed, and besides, the clam farming area was completely occupied. Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Ha's boat, with a capacity of 3,200 CV, had to be sold to a boat owner in Quynh Tien commune due to the shallow creek, making it difficult to get in and out; Mr. Nguyen Van Phuoc's boat with a capacity of 350 CV could not go out to sea and had to stay on the shore; the boats of Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hanh, Dang Van Tien, Dong Van Huyen, Tran Van Vuong, Vu Quang Ngo... went on one trip and then waited for two trips.

Ship owner Tran Van Vuong, hamlet 7, Son Hai said: "My ship has been docked for 2 months now due to shallow water. The ship's capacity is 300 CV, requiring a water level of 2.5 m to enter and exit the channel, but the channel is too shallow, there are many sandbars, and it requires a tugboat to enter and exit, which is very expensive. I hope the government will invest in dredging the channel because after another storm season, the channel will be even more silted up."

Mr. Nguyen Van Thay - Chairman of Son Hai Fisheries Association said: "This year, 3 fishing boat owners have sold their boats. Of the 7 purchasing boats of Son Hai, 2 had to be sold, the rest have been on shore for more than 6 months/year. Purchasing boats with a capacity of 350, 320 CV operate far offshore, supplying raw materials and fuel as well as purchasing seafood for boats. The boats are big but the channel is too shallow, the channel is too narrow, and it has not been dredged for a long time, so the lights are broken when entering and exiting due to collisions, and by the time the water rises, the fish are rotten.

Chairman of the Commune People's Committee Tran Van Hung affirmed: If the current situation of the waterway continues, many more fishermen will quit their jobs. In the first 6 months of 2012, 6 boats had to be sold. This is not a good sign, while Quynh Luu is a district at the head of Nghe An, and is in dire need of people to go out to sea.

Not only in Son Hai, but also in Quynh Nghia, Tien Thuy, Quynh Long... the leading seafood exploitation communes of Nghe An, boats are also competing to enter Nam Lach Quen wharf, while this wharf is overloaded, there are reefs blocking the entrance to the wharf, the channel and channel are only guaranteed for 70-ton ships, large ships cannot enter.

In such shallow and narrow channels and creeks, it is unclear why the authorities of Quynh Luu district and some communes still allow people to encroach on channels and creeks, plant stakes, and build clam farming huts? The management of tidal zones to ensure security and order for fishing boats has been lax in recent years and has not been stopped.

Chau Lan - Cong Sang