Steadfast in the midst of the sea and islands of the Fatherland

(Baonghean) -To ensure safety at sea, in recent years, fishermen have joined together to form united fishing teams at sea. After a period of operation, the model of united fishing boats has shown clear results in fishing as well as playing an important role in protecting the sovereignty of the homeland's sea and islands.

Fisherman Dau Dinh Huu, Hop Tien village, Quynh Lap commune (Hoang Mai town) said: Implementing the local policy of establishing solidarity teams of boats to support each other in the process of exploiting at sea, in 2007, his family boldly borrowed capital to upgrade the capacity of the ship from 240CV to 500CV worth nearly 4 billion VND. Along with 10 million VND from the State's support, Mr. Huu and 6 other captains joined together to establish a solidarity team of 7 ships. Of which, 4 ships with a capacity of 300CV or more specialize in going offshore to exploit seafood in the offshore area, the remaining 3 ships do logistics work such as receiving and transporting fish to the port. At the same time, they also transfer necessities, gasoline, ice... to serve large boats to continue going offshore. Thanks to that, each voyage, the ships can save tens of millions of VND in fuel costs compared to before.

Since the establishment of the solidarity team with a new way of doing business, the member ships have been doing well. In particular, the solidarity teams have more time to stay at sea and at fishing grounds, thereby promptly detecting strange fishing vessels violating the country's territorial waters and reporting to the authorities for timely handling.

Captain Dau Dinh Huu shared: Since the establishment of the boat solidarity team, we have felt very confident in every trip out to sea. In addition to catching a lot of shrimp and fish, the task of protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland is also focused on. When working at sea, if fishermen discover strange foreign boats invading the territorial waters, they must quickly inform the mainland so that the Navy soldiers can take measures to repel them, in order to protect the sovereignty of the country's seas.

The entire Quynh Lap commune currently has 245 fishing boats, of which 145 boats with a capacity of 90CV to 750CV specialize in offshore fishing, reaching out to exploit large fishing grounds. The income of the people here depends entirely on the seafaring profession and the development of the fishing logistics group. Therefore, the locality has determined that the seafaring profession plays a very important role for fishermen. The sea is not only home, "bread and butter" but also the life of fishermen. Therefore, in order to ensure that people can both go to sea to exploit safely and at the same time contribute to protecting the sacred territorial waters of the Fatherland, from 2007 to now, the locality has mobilized fishermen to establish 20 solidarity teams. On average, each team has from 6 to 10 boats. When joining together in teams, the ships have the conditions to support each other in production, product consumption, search and rescue, and especially promote the strength of solidarity in detecting and chasing foreign fishing vessels that violate Vietnam's territorial waters.

Farmers in Quynh Long commune (Quynh Luu) prepare to go to sea. Photo: Tuan Dat

To support the search and rescue work at sea for fishermen, over the past years, Quynh Lap has received support from the State for over 1,000 life jackets. In 2012, it was supported for 7 teams of 7 I.COM machines, and a number of positioning machines to develop a marine information system to ensure fishermen can confidently go out to sea.

In Quynh Nghia commune, Quynh Luu district, the solidarity team model was officially established in 2009. Up to now, the whole commune has 17 teams, each team has an average of 4 to 7 boats. Previously, fishing boats in Quynh Nghia commune only operated individually and alone at sea, so the exploitation output was still low and uneven. Now, the solidarity teams have reached out to fish in large fishing grounds such as Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos....

From the positive results that the model of solidarity of boats and ships has brought, not only Quynh Lap and Quynh Nghia communes, but also fishermen in the coastal areas of Quynh Luu district and Hoang Mai town have boldly invested in large ships and engines, linking up into teams to support each other in fishing and exploitation at sea. Up to now, both localities have established 131 solidarity teams with nearly 1,000 participating boats and ships. Most of the teams have promoted their ability to connect in the process of fishing, sharing fishing grounds and searching and rescuing.

Assessing the superiority that the solidarity team model brings to fishermen, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quynh Luu district emphasized: The establishment of teams at sea is extremely necessary. In addition to the role as inter-family groups in hamlets, it also has an important meaning as a cooperative supporting each other in production as well as product consumption. This is a direction that needs to be further researched, improved and organized more closely to improve the efficiency of seafood exploitation, then reduce risks and damage to property and people. At the same time, improve the ability to be present at sea longer and more frequently, contributing to protecting our sovereignty over seas and islands.

For generations, the profession of going to sea has been closely associated with fishermen. However, the sea is not only gentle, giving many shrimps and fish, but also contains unpredictable risks and dangers. Therefore, the establishment of united teams of boats at sea will contribute to helping fishermen have a firmer hand at the helm to stand firm in the sea of ​​the motherland.

Nhu Thuy (Dai Quynh Luu)