Fishermen take a fish from their vessel after their first voyage of this year at Hòn Rớ Port in Khánh Hòa Province. — Photo nhandan.vn

KHÁNH HÒA — Fishermen in central provinces embark on a successful start to the new year as their boats return to Hòn Rớ Port in Khánh Hòa Province overflowing with a bountiful catch.

Nguyễn Tấn Lầu, the owner of fishing vessel KH 96778-TS, returned to Khánh Hòa Province’s mainland on January 26 after 12 days going fishing in the DK1 fishing grounds.

“The first trip of the year is quite smooth,” Lầu said.

“I earned a profit of nearly VNĐ100 million (US$4,250) from the trip,” he said.

Lầu said he hoped this year’s all trips will be smooth like the first trip.

Huỳnh Điệm, owner of fishing vessel KH 99171 TS in Vĩnh Phước Ward, Nha Trang City, Khánh Hòa Province, said his fishing vessel caught more than 12 tonnes of fish in the first voyage of this year.

After deducting the cost of VNĐ250 million ($10,630) for oil and other materials and paying the salary of 12 workers on the fishing vessels, he still earned VNĐ150 million ($6,387).

According to the province’s Management Board of Hòn Rớ Port, between January 23 and January 26, more than ten offshore fishing vessels docked at the port with a total output of nearly 90 tonnes of fish.

Moreover, the board said many other fishing vessels have been returning to the port with a lot of fish.

Also, many offshore fishing vessels have prepared to set sail at the port, taking advantage of favourable weather conditions.

Director of the province’s Fisheries Division, Nguyễn Trọng Chánh, talked to Nhân dân (People) online newspaper that fishing activities had made an important contribution to the economic structure of the local aquatic industry in 2022, with an output of 95,000 tonnes of fishes, greatly contributing to the province's seafood export turnover.

In Ninh Thuận Province, Ðặng Văn Tín, director of the provincial Fisheries Division, said the weather at sea is quite favourable now. Therefore, 90 per cent of the local fishing vessels operating at sea get a high capacity for exploiting fish.

In Phú Yên Province, about 80 fishing vessels, with a total of 700 fishermen, went fishing at sea before the Tết (Lunar New Year) holidays.

Difficulties still ahead

However, Chánh also said in general, the fishing activities of local fishermen in Khánh Hòa Province have faced many difficulties ahead due to the continued impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the "yellow card" of the European Commission (EC) on Việt Nam’s seafood exports, the high price of fuel and harsh weather conditions at sea.

In Ninh Thuận Province, some fishermen are still applying destructive fishing practices. Some local fishing vessels operating in the waters of provinces of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu, Cà Mau, and Kiên Giang still violate regulations on exploiting aquatic products, affecting the country’s efforts to remove the yellow cards of the EC.

Hà Viên, director of Phú Yên Fishing Port Management Board in Phú Yên Province, said the economic effect of the first voyage of the year was not as much as hoped as the output of tuna was low while the price of oil increased.

Many fishing vessels decided to prolong their fishing time at sea. Only seven out of 80 offshore fishing vessels have docked at Ðông Tác fishing port in Tuy Hòa City so far, he said.

Nguyễn Thị Tường Vi, owner of the fishing vessel PY 96265-TS in Phú Ðông Ward, Tuy Hòa City, Phú Yên Province, said that the fishing activities are now getting harder and harder because the fuel prices are higher and higher and it is difficult to find boat mate for the trip.

Vi said she had to pay over VNĐ100 million ($4,250) for the costs of oil, ice for fish preservation and salary for five workers to run the first trip this year.

Võ Hồng Lý, owner of the fishing vessel NT 90834-TS in Phan Rang-Tháp Chàm City, Ninh Thuận Province, said currently the costs for a fishing trip are high, so it is hoped that the State provides more policies to support fishermen.

Fishermen also face many risks when operating at sea. Hopefully, Việt Nam's law enforcement forces to further strengthen their presence on offshore fishing grounds to support when fishermen are in distress promptly, he said.

Fishing vessels in Ninh Thuận Province. — Photo nhandan.vn

Supporting activities

The Fisheries Division of Khánh Hòa Province said it would coordinate with relevant units to continue guiding fishermen to the most favourable access to the State's support policies; build a fleet of offshore fishing vessels that is fully installed with modern fishing gear and equipment; increase the application of techniques to exploitation and preservation to improve the efficiency of the voyage and increase income for fishermen.

It will become a bridge to connect and create favourable conditions for enterprises to purchase and process seafood from fishermen, actively supporting fishermen and businesses in certifying the origin of exploited seafood.

Ðặng Văn Tín, director of the Fisheries Division of Ninh Thuận Province, said the province sets a target of exploiting more than 126,000 tonnes of seafood this year.

To do that, the province will encourage and support fishermen to repair and upgrade large-capacity fishing fleets with modern maritime equipment so that fishermen can be more confident when fishing offshore, he said.

At the same time, it will mobilise fishing boat owners to set up groups to participate in going fishing offshore, he said.

The division also plans to send teams of engineers to follow the fishing vessels, assist fishermen in surveying the fishing grounds, and handle problems when operating in Trường Sa fishing grounds, he said.

In Phú Yên Province, the provincial People’s Committee has a cooperation agreement with Japan on fisheries development. The move aims to develop a sustainable tuna fishing industry.

Accordingly, the province will cooperate with Japan’s Kiyomura Group to deploy solutions to develop the tuna fishing industry.

Under the cooperation, the solutions to improve the quality of tuna will focus on improving the technology of fishing and preserving on fishing vessels; improving the skills of crew members; dividing into small teams to shorten the time of going fishing at sea; connecting between the fleets and enterprises to ensure a sustainable value chain for mutual benefits.

Relevant agencies and sectors of the province will give the best support to the fishermen by ensuring the most favourable conditions for channels, estuaries, fishing ports and logistics services. — VNS