Fishing boats in Cà Mau Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Thế Anh

CÀ MAU — The southernmost province of Cà Mau sees the marine economy as critical to its economic development.

With three sides bordering the sea, a coastline of 254 kilometres and three island clusters, the province has favourable conditions for seafood catches and marine aquaculture.

The province has a fishing ground of 80,000 square kilometres, one of the country’s four important fishing grounds. It contains a large volume of aquatic species, with many of them having high value.

There are more than 4,500 fishing boats in the province.

The province targets increasing its seafood output growth by 2.17 per cent a year from now to 2030, reaching 800,000 tonnes in 2030.

To meet the targets, the province will restructure its seafood catch activities, and zone fishing boat sea areas. It will also develop more co-operatives to improve income for fishermen, and reduce near-shore fishing activities to protect aquatic species and the environment.

Concentrated marine aquaculture areas will be expanded to produce a large quantity of seafood for exports. 

The province will also prioritise investment in infrastructure for aquaculture areas in coastal areas and islands. Marine fish, lobsters, bivalve mollusks, and marine algae are among the seafood products given priority for breeding.

The province will help workers whose fishing activities adversely impact aquatic species to find other jobs, and will create stable livelihoods for locals living in coastal areas.

Infrastructure development

Trần Văn Thời District’s Sông Đốc Town, which is one of the three key localities developing the marine economy, has invested in offshore fishing boat fleets and its first marine expressway from the town to Nam Du Island in Kiên Giang Province’s Phú Quốc City.  

The town is also planning to build the Sông Đốc Bridge to connect the southern and northern parts of the town.

Trần Quốc Lâm, deputy chairman of the town, said the marine expressway will boost the town’s tourism and socio-economic development.

The province will also build roads along the coast, reorganise coastal residential areas to mitigate the impact of natural disasters and climate change, and develop human resources for the marine economy.

Modern seafood processing factories will be developed for products that have high quality and high value and meet export requirements.

The province has called on investors to invest in infrastructure for the Năm Căn Economic Zone and Sông Đốc Industrial Park. It is also creating favourable conditions for investors in sea tourism and high-quality tourism resorts in coastal areas.

Bumper catch

Fishermen in the province had a bumper catch of seafood after Tết (Lunar New Year), which fell on February 12 this year.

In Sông Đốc Town, fishing boats caught a large quantity of various fish species and cuttlefish that sold for high prices, according to boat owners.

Dried seafood products were also purchased at high prices. Dried cuttlefish is in high demand for domestic consumption and export to China. — VNS