The ship's hold was full of fish.

Fishermen in Dak Lak are entering the main season for catching ocean tuna. Favorable weather conditions at sea and the appearance of many schools of fish have resulted in high catches for many fishing vessels, bringing in significant income.

In recent days, the atmosphere at the province's coastal fishing ports has been bustling. Many boats have docked after long voyages, and fishermen are busily unloading their catch for sale. This year, although the price of tuna is not high, the high yield compensates for it, so the fishermen are still very happy.

On July 2nd, the fishing vessel PY95546TS owned by Ms. Tran Thi Hong ( Phu Yen ward) returned to Dong Tac fishing port and began unloading its catch ashore. Ms. Hong said that thanks to calm seas and a good school of fish, the owner and her crew were all delighted. After more than 30 days of fishing at sea, Ms. Hong's vessel harvested a total of approximately 2.3 tons of seafood, including over 2.1 tons of tuna (nearly 50 fish).

Fishermen bring tuna from the fish hold to shore.

According to information from the Dong Tac Fishing Port Management Board, it is currently the time when offshore fishing vessels return to port. From July 1st to 3rd alone, more than 40 vessels docked, bringing in 50 tons of tuna. Besides Ms. Hong's vessel PY95546TS, which yielded over 2.1 tons of fish, vessel PY96202TS also caught 1.3 tons of tuna and over 2 tons of other seafood; vessel PY96419TS caught 1.3 tons of tuna and 5 tons of other seafood… Mr. Dang Tan Soan, from Muoi Sum Seafood Purchasing Company Limited (Phu Yen ward), commented: “The quality of the tuna this time is relatively good, so we bought it all. Timely purchasing and maintaining stable prices will encourage fishermen and motivate them to continue fishing at sea.”

From the beginning of the year until now, approximately 2,800 fishing vessels have departed from ports in the province, and about 2,660 have arrived at ports. The total seafood catch reached approximately 36,400 tons, equivalent to 104.8% compared to the same period last year; including 2,400 tons of tuna.

Fisherman Huynh Van Thien, owner of fishing boat PY96419TS (Phu Yen ward), shared that the current selling price of ocean tuna is only 98,000 VND/kg, and after each fishing trip, each crew member receives 7 million VND. "That's the nature of fishing; a good season brings high income, a bad season brings losses and expenses. Fishermen are used to it."

"For a long time, fishermen have considered the sea their home and their main source of livelihood. So whenever they go out to sea, they not only exploit seafood but also act as living markers to protect the fishing grounds and islands of their homeland," Mr. Thien expressed.

According to Mr. Ha Vien, Head of the Provincial Fisheries Port Management Board (Department of Agriculture and Environment), there are currently four main fishing ports in the province: Dong Tac (Phu Yen ward), Phu Lac (Hoa Hiep ward), Tien Chau (Tuy An Dong commune), and Dan Phuoc (Xuan Dai ward).

Since the beginning of the year, the seafood unloaded through these four ports has mainly included ocean tuna, skipjack tuna, swordfish, mackerel, squid, scad, anchovies, and some other types of seafood.

The Provincial Fisheries Port Management Board has allocated personnel and rationally arranged areas for vessels to unload seafood ashore, creating all favorable conditions for fishermen to transfer supplies, necessities, fuel, etc., onto their vessels to continue fishing offshore.

The joy of fishermen when they catch a large quantity of tuna.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the province currently has approximately 3,000 fishing vessels, of which 686 are 15 meters or longer and specialize in offshore fishing. To date, the province maintains 119 production teams with 926 vessels and more than 7,940 workers regularly engaged in fishing at sea.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Ho Thi Nguyen Thao requested that departments, agencies, and coastal localities carefully prepare the program, content, and work plan for the 5th EC inspection team according to the guidelines of the National Steering Committee on combating IUU fishing; to be completed before August 31, 2025.

According to businesses involved in purchasing, processing, and exporting ocean tuna in the province, there was a time when the purchase price of grade 1 ocean tuna at the port reached 140,000 VND/kg, but now it is only 98,000 VND/kg.

The reason is due to the impact of the European Commission's (EC) yellow card warning regarding Vietnamese harvested seafood. Accordingly, countries importing ocean tuna, especially the European Union (EU), have imposed many very strict regulations.

Many fishermen say that, in order to have the yellow card warning lifted soon, they have fully complied with regulations on marine fisheries exploitation and participated in combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, as well as the Fisheries Law and other regulations. When going out to sea, boat owners and captains in the fishing fleet regularly remind each other not to encroach on foreign waters and to participate in protecting fishing grounds and the country's waters. Fishermen hope that the departments, agencies, and provincial leaders will continue to pay attention and create favorable conditions for fishermen to go out to sea and earn a living.

The ship's hold was full of fish.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, with the decisive involvement of the entire political system from the provincial to the grassroots level, the fight against IUU (Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated) fishing in the province has seen many positive changes. From 2019 to the present, no fishing vessels from the province have been apprehended or prosecuted for violating fishing regulations in foreign waters. To achieve this result, the provincial agricultural sector has implemented the e-CDT software to control fishing vessels entering and leaving ports, monitor catch quantities unloaded at ports, and trace the origin of harvested seafood. Fishing vessels that lose their vessel tracking connection or cross the permitted boundaries at sea are contacted by authorities to restore the vessel tracking connection and are instructed to return to Vietnamese waters to continue fishing.

“The Provincial People's Committee has directed departments, agencies, and coastal localities to strictly implement the directives of the Central Government and the province on combating IUU fishing. The Department of Agriculture and Environment continues to coordinate with functional forces and localities to strengthen patrols and inspections of fishing vessels at sea, river mouths, and fishing ports; strictly handle cases of violations in fisheries activities, focusing on violations related to vessel tracking, permitted fishing areas at sea, fishing licenses, vessel registration, and vessel inspection,” emphasized Mr. Lu Ngoc Lam, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/tin-noi-bat/202507/khoang-tau-day-ap-ca-e610fc3/