Fishing boats off the An Thới coast on Phú Quốc Island. — VNA/VNS Photo Lê Huy Hải

HCM CITY — Authorities in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta have introduced various measures to help fishing boat owners invest more in their vessels and operate efficiently.

Fishing is a key economic activity in the delta, which comprises 12 provinces and Cần Thơ City.

In coastal provinces such as Cà Mau, Kiên Giang, Sóc Trăng and Tiền Giang, authorities have implemented support policies, including soft loans, to help fishermen build and upgrade their fishing boats.

Trần Hoàng Nhật Nam, director of the Tiền Giang Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said: “The province has focused on developing fishing activities in recent years by using local resources and effectively implementing central government policies, especially those encouraging offshore fishing.”

The province has supported fishermen in building and upgrading their boats with engines of more than 90CV for offshore fishing, he said.

It has upgraded fishing ports and storm shelter areas to enhance logistics services for the fishing industry and encouraged fishing boat owners to form co-operative groups to assist each other while offshore.

It has provided weather forecasting equipment to 179 fishing boats and trained fishermen to use JMC–CSL 1000 sonar, a device that detects fish shoals.

The latter costs VNĐ280 million (US$11,000), but the province offers a 50 per cent subsidy to boat owners.

Coastal provinces have also installed black boxes on offshore fishing boats to monitor their fishing activities and identify their locations to rescue them in case of mishaps at sea.

The installation helps prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Tiền Giang, Sóc Trăng and Cà Mau have installed these devices on all offshore fishing boats.

The provinces have increased advocacy efforts to raise fishermen’s awareness of the problems caused by IUU fishing.

Trần Văn O, a fishing boat owner in Tiền Giang’s Gò Công Đông District, said: “Thanks to advocacy activities by local authorities, fishermen are now aware of the regulations for fishing at sea and strictly adhere to them.”

Infrastructure investment

Coastal provinces in the delta have invested in infrastructure to support fishing.

Phạm Văn Trọng, deputy chairman of the Tiền Giang People’s Committee, said the province prioritises development of offshore, high-capacity fishing boats and improving logistics services for both sea and land operations.

It is mobilising investment to expand the Vàm Láng fishing port in Gò Công Đông District and build a storm shelter in the Soài Rạp River estuary.

It has policies to assist fishermen in buying modern fishing equipment, adopting advanced techniques and preserving seafood to reduce post-catch losses.

The Cà Mau Province People’s Committee has approved a plan to invest in and upgrade fishing infrastructure by 2030.

The plan includes constructing or upgrading 13 fishing ports and 13 storm shelters capable of accommodating a total of 7,700 fishing boats, and dredging estuaries and approach channels to fishing ports.

Businesses involved in building and repairing boats, seafood processing and selling petrol, ice and fishing tools will be inspected to ensure compliance with regulations.

The plan aims to manage the fishing sector effectively to meet seafood traceability requirements and prevent IUU fishing.

Cà Mau has over 4,330 fishing boats, 1,551 of which are at least 15m long and thus qualify to fish offshore.

Bordered by the sea on three sides and with a maritime area exceeding 80,000sq.km, the province is one of the country’s four major fishing grounds.

It has increasingly adopted digitalisation to manage fishing activities.

Programmes to restore fisheries resources have also been implemented, including enabling fishermen using destructive fishing methods to switch to alternative livelihoods.

Kiên Giang Province has prohibited the catch of various bivalve mollusc species during their reproductive seasons from July 1 to December 31 in recent years.

During the ban period fishing boats under 12m in length are not permitted to catch blood cockles, yellow clams, ark clams, or baby clams near shore either.

The province also bans seafood processors and traders from buying bivalve molluscs caught near shore during the period.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued a directive to coastal provinces and cities nationwide to enhance their oversight of fishing boats and ensure the safety of fishermen.

Boats must be registered and equipped with safety tools and firefighting equipment if they want to fish offshore, the ministry stated.

Localities should guide fishermen on measures to prevent accidents and risks at sea and encourage boats to fish in groups to assist each other in case of emergencies, it said. — VNS