Urgent support for fishermen to change careers

Converting coastal seafood exploitation is not only a solution to remove the "yellow card" for fisheries but also aims to stabilize fishermen's lives and promote sustainable fisheries development in Da Nang city.

Fishermen of Tam Xuan commune come ashore to sell seafood after a coastal trip. Photo: QUANG VIET

Decline in fisheries resources

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of the city, Da Nang currently has 2,326 fishing vessels with length from 6m to under 12m fishing in coastal waters (accounting for 56.4% of the total number of fishing vessels). Overexploitation of coastal seafood in recent times has led to depletion of seafood resources, making the livelihood of fishermen increasingly difficult.

In the island commune of Tam Hai, there are currently hundreds of households making a living from coastal fishing. According to research by Dr. Chu Manh Trinh, a marine conservation expert, due to overfishing, biodiversity and marine ecology in the Tam Hai sea area, especially the protected area of ​​Ban Than, are seriously threatened. Many valuable seafood species such as red snapper, sardine, and sailfish are declining and at risk of being lost. Coral reefs and seagrass have significantly decreased in area.

Fisherman Huynh Van Tap (Thuan An village, Tam Hai island commune) said that in the past, herring, fish, mullet, cobia, and sea bass were abundant in the local coastal waters, but now they are very rare. “In the past, each fishing trip from night to morning brought us a stable income. Now the fish yield after each fishing trip is gradually decreasing, so the income is more unstable,” said Mr. Tap.

Dredging destroys resources and damages fishing gear of coastal fishermen. Photo: QUANG VIET

Mr. Huynh Van Cuong, Chairman of the People's Committee of Tam Hai island commune, said that recently, the lives of the fishing community whose main livelihood is coastal fishing have been affected by the gradual decline in seafood reserves. Meanwhile, trawling has damaged the fishing gear of small-capacity boats, further negatively affecting the livelihoods of fishermen in the area.

Mr. Cuong hopes that the fisheries, fisheries surveillance, coast guard, and border guards will control and strictly handle trawlers that damage fishermen's nets and negatively impact marine ecology and biodiversity in the island commune, especially in the Ban Than area where a marine conservation area is planned. In particular, the city will soon have mechanisms and policies to support fishermen in changing their jobs to stabilize their livelihoods and contribute to protecting marine biology and ecology.

Need practical policies

Converting seafood exploitation occupations that adversely affect the marine ecological environment has become an urgent issue recently. The Government issued Decision No. 208 dated March 10, 2023 approving the project to convert seafood exploitation occupations that affect resources and the ecological environment. The goal is to gradually improve productivity, quality, and efficiency of seafood exploitation in conjunction with protecting resources, marine ecology, and marine biodiversity; creating stable jobs and income to ensure the livelihood of fishermen after converting occupations.

Converting coastal fisheries not only brings stable income but also protects biodiversity and marine ecology. Photo: QUANG VIET

According to the People's Committee of Tam Xuan commune, in order to implement the above project, the city's fisheries sector has recently collected data and asked for opinions from fishermen working in trawling in the area on suitable career conversion. Most fishermen agree to change their career, hoping that the relevant agencies will advise the City People's Committee on mechanisms and policies to support fishermen who stop fishing in trawling. The forms of support focus on finance, vocational training, support for participation in community groups to manage and protect the ecosystem of Ba Dau reef...

Currently, in the city, there are many models of converting coastal fishing to offshore seafood farming; many models bring quite good economic efficiency. However, due to limited capital, fishermen cannot invest in seafood farming in solid cages, and suffer a lot of damage due to storms and floods.

Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Tran Nam Hung said that changing the profession of fishermen exploiting seafood inshore is very urgent. This is an important content in combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing so that Da Nang and the whole country can properly implement the recommendations of the European Commission on removing the "yellow card" on seafood, moving towards responsible fishing and sustainable development. The city's leaders assigned the Department of Agriculture and Environment to encourage and support fishermen to change from coastal fishing to offshore seafood farming with investment in solid HDPE cages that can withstand unpredictable conditions at sea.

The above solution is expected to bring high efficiency in converting coastal fisheries, helping fishermen increase their income. Thereby, contributing to Da Nang and the whole country successfully implementing the strategy of developing the marine economy, effectively exploiting the potential of the sea, and getting rich from the sea.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/cap-thiet-ho-tro-ngu-dan-chuyen-doi-nghe-3309212.html