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Gov’t urges off-shore fishing increase
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has urged authorities in coastal provinces and cities to take drastic measures to carry out a Governmental decision on financial support to off shore fishing by the end of the year.
According to Minister Cao Duc Phat, aquatic resources are rapidly being exhausted due, not simply to fishing boats, but also to offshore fishing vessels that are increasingly operating in the areas close to the shore.
They do so due to fluctuations in the price of materials such as fuel which has greatly increased overhead and production costs, while the prices of what they catch remain virtually unchanged.
Director of the ministry’s Aquatic Products Exploitation and Protection Department Chu Tien Vinh said in accordance with the Government’s policy, the Ministry of Finance had temporarily advanced 28 coastal provinces and cities with more than VND1.2 trillion (US$72.7 million), nearly half of which had been paid to fishermen.
Vinh said the Government’s decision to help fishermen develop off-shore fishing had contributed to helping localities complete registration procedures for fishing vessels. The cities and provinces of Hai Phong, Da Nang, Thai Binh, Nghe An and Tien Giang have completed these development projects.
The localities will have to tighten control on the operation of vessels, said Tien. Over 48,700 fishing vessels are registered.
Statistics shows that there are about 87,000 fishing vessels in Viet Nam, of which 15,000 are offshore fishing vessels with a capacity of 90 horse power or more; the remainder are small and have a short-range.
Vinh said the sector’s total productivity of aquatic products was estimated at nearly 1.6 billion tonnes, an increase of 0.2 per cent compared with that of the same period last year.
"The productivity of aquaproducts in the first nine months has increased but the fishing vessels’ capacities and product quality are steadily reducing," said Vinh.
To develop offshore fishing, Minister Phat has required localities to apply advanced technology to fishing and preserving products to make a shift in the industry and raise income for fishermen.
Phat said the sector should use money from the fishing promotion fund to push training jobs and inform legal regulations for fishermen. "The ministry will strengthen control on boats and vessels and minimise the number of boats operating near the sea," he said.
VNN
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