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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 an increasing number of fishing vessels operating in areas close to the shore.
They do so due to rising price of materials such as fuel which have greatly pushed up 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 advanced 28 coastal provinces and cities with more than 1.2 trillion VND (72.7 million USD), 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 projects.
The localities will have to tighten control on the operation of vessels, said Vinh, adding that over 48,700 fishing vessels have been registered, while statistics show that there are about 87,000 fishing vessels in Vietnam , 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.
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 and inform legal regulations for fishermen. “The ministry will strengthen control on boats and vessels and minimise the number of boats operating near the shore,” he said.
VNA
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