Ta Quang Ngoc - Cool water from the source
Born into an intellectual family with a rich tradition of learning, famous not only in Nam Dan but also in Nghe An, when he was a teacher or Minister of Fisheries, when he worked at the Vietnam - Thailand Friendship Association or even when he retired, Dr. Ta Quang Ngoc was still a pure, loyal, and filial Nghe An person, bringing glory to his homeland and family.
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Author:Cherry Blossom /Technique:Hong Toai• August 13, 2025
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Dr. Ta Quang Ngoc was born into a long-standing intellectual family in Khanh Son commune, old Nam Dan district, now Thien Nhan commune, Nghe An province. His family in Khanh Son had many generations of good students and successful graduates, and was admired and trusted by the people in the area. The ancients recounted that in his grandfather's house there was a horizontal plaque "Phu giao tu dang khoa" (Phu giao tu dang khoa), and another one "Cu nhan tai quan" (Bachelor at the restaurant), stating the tradition: Fathers taught their children to pass the exams for many generations, and each generation passed the bachelor's degree and then stayed in the village to teach and farm instead of becoming mandarins. He was proud of this tradition as well as other beautiful traits passed down from his family, and considered what he had today to come from that cool source.
His grandfather was Ta Quang Diem, who passed the Bachelor's degree in the year of Ky Dau (1909), during the reign of King Duy Tan. In the bookDictionary of Nghe An characters,He is mentioned as a famous scholar, folk artist, famous for his good writing.
His grandmother was Mrs. Nguyen Thi Dao - poetess Sam Pho, granddaughter of the third-ranked Nguyen Duc Dat - one of the two most outstanding teachers in Nghe An at the end of the 19th century. The combination of the quintessence of the two families gave birth to his uncle, the famous scientist Ta Quang Buu, and his father, Mr. Ta Quang De - journalist Quang Dam, a giant of the Vietnamese revolutionary press.
PhD Ta Quang Ngoc was born on November 15, 1944.
He graduated from the University of Fisheries in November 1966, did research and received his PhD at the University of Food Industry in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in 1981.
He taught and worked at the University of Fisheries (now Nha Trang University) from December 1966 to April 1984.
Worked at the Ministry of Fisheries from April 1984 until his retirement in August 2007. During that time, he was Minister of Fisheries for 11 years (from November 1996 to July 2007).
Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, 8th and 9th terms.
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At the end of 1996, he became Minister of Fisheries. At this time, our country had passed the first 10 years of Renovation, the process of international economic integration entered a new stage towards globalization.
That was an opportunity for him to strive, but also placed a heavy responsibility on his shoulders. How to make the fisheries industry a spearhead economic sector of the country, contributing to making our country a strong maritime economy? How to improve the lives of fishermen, and ensure safety when fishing at sea? And above all, it must have a pure heart and an impartial morality.
He recalled the memory of the day before the National Assembly voted to approve the new government members presented by the Prime Minister: “On the morning of November 5, 1996, I had a meeting in Hoa Binh. Early that morning, along with a few other officials, I drove from Hanoi. When the car passed a tunnel before going to the Hydropower Experts area for a meeting, the car was swept into a rushing stream. We escaped death, but we were wet and cold, and for me, the important thing was to be able to bathe and clean myself. The next day, the National Assembly voted to approve me as Minister of Fisheries, and from that moment on, I carried that quality of "being clean and bathing in streams" into my 11 years of work.".
During this time, a reputable newspaper had a series of articles with the same title:Ministers of the Open Door period.There was an article about him. He was happy to hold the newspaper article about himself, but he was even more worried about whether he had enough heart and ability to catch up and surpass himself when the country was undergoing drastic changes.
He shared: “At that time, I thought that I would do only two things with my apparatus: First, we must take good care of the industry's infrastructure, upgrade and innovate production capacity; second, we are building a socialist rule of law state, in an integrated world, the law becomes an important issue, the basis for industry development and for us to sign many documents in integration, including trade agreements."
Decree Protection and Development of Aquatic Resourceswas issued by the State Council in 1989 and was the highest legal document of the fisheries sector in the early 1990s. Faced with the new requirements of the sector's development, as soon as he started his position as Minister, Dr. Ta Quang Ngoc immediately thought of building and soon submitting and having the Fisheries Law of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
He considered this a passion. Therefore, he prioritized the early formation and completion of a strong enough Legal Department of the Ministry, then sought support and cooperation from relevant ministries, countries and international organizations with many good experts on the world's oceans and fisheries.
The Fisheries Law, thus carefully prepared and passed by the National Assembly in 2003, has become a reliable and effective legal framework for Vietnamese fisheries to enter a new stage of development.
During this period, the port system and fishing logistics were also built and upgraded, offshore vessels were built and converted to encourage offshore fishing. Commercial aquaculture and seafood processing developed strongly, and export products were accepted by "difficult" markets such as the United States and Europe. These were also turning points for the industry to adapt to the requirements and conditions of globalization, integrating more deeply with regional and world fisheries.
Looking back at the contributions of former Minister Ta Quang Ngoc, Dr. Tran Dinh Luan, Director of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, affirmed: "Policies such as infrastructure development, promoting processing, and encouraging offshore fishing at that time were important premises for the Vietnamese fisheries industry to achieve the success it has today."
During his 11 years as Minister, Dr. Ta Quang Ngoc was attached to and devoted much affection to fishermen. His wife, Mrs. Luong Thanh Chau, recalled: Every time there was news of a storm, he was bewildered and worried. He worried that fishermen would not have time to update the news to return to shore, and that small boats would not be able to withstand the fierce waves. After the storm, with every new information about the damage, he felt even more heartbroken...
Until his retirement in 2007, the thing he was most concerned about when leaving office was the lives of fishermen. Although the fisheries industry had developed and the country's economy had improved, the lives of fishermen were still poor and miserable, their economies were still fragmented and lacked sustainable connections.
He himself was still moved when talking about this story: "At work, there are many times I can do it, but there are also many things that I have thought about but still cannot do. Especially the issue of safety of fishermen when going out to sea, in natural disasters, storms and floods, are things that every time I think about it, I feel so worried and heartbroken.".
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With a dedicated and tireless spirit, he continues to learn, research, search for scientific data, and update information from practice to write articles for newspapers.
He devoted much thought to the development of fisheries, the protection of sovereignty at sea, and the lives of fishermen. His writings during more than ten years of retirement were compiled in the book “Stillness and Thoughts” published in 2020.
Articles like “Some thoughts on making a fisheries strategy”, “Fisheries with fishermen as the subject and cultural tradition”, “Our country’s seas and islands in the struggle to protect sovereignty and integration – from the perspective of fisheries”…are all very thoughtful, with many proposals for the development of current fisheries policy.
Reading the book, readers recognize in each line a soul "concerned with the times", devoted to life, like his father, uncle, and ancestors of the Ta Quang family.
As a Nghe An native, born and raised in the traditional source of "fathering teachers to help their children pass exams", and having been a teacher, in daily life or at work, he always maintains a calm, exemplary demeanor, a frugal lifestyle, and loves and respects everyone.
Family tradition and tradition have always been a cool stream that nurtured his personality and intelligence. At the age of over eighty, he still worries endlessly about the rivers, the fish, the fishermen, and the sacred sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland, just as he himself admitted that he is a troubled person.
From 2007 to present, he retired and continued to take on many jobs such as: Vice President of Vietnam Ornamental Plants Association (2008-2017); President of Vietnam - Thailand Friendship Association (2003-2022); President of Vietnam Association of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Science and Technology (1998 - present).
In 2005, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand awarded him the noble Order of the White Elephant, First Class, and knighted him with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Kingdom of Thailand. In 2017, he was honored by the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA) as a typical Intellectual of Science and Technology. In 2006, the University of Food Industry of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, where he researched and successfully defended his doctoral thesis, awarded him the title of Honorary Doctor (Hnorris Causa).
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