Quang Ngai City: Exploiting advantages from the marine industry

( Quang Ngai Newspaper) - The fisheries sector of Quang Ngai City has created jobs for more than 17,000 workers working directly on fishing boats and more than 3,000 workers working in the field of fishing logistics. Among them, many workers are from poor and near-poor households.

CREATE JOBS FOR MANY WORKERS

According to statistics, the city currently has 1,831 fishing vessels exploiting seafood. Of which, fishing vessels with a length of less than 6m are 173. In this group of vessels, the number of workers on each vessel is only 1-2 people, mainly ship owners, specializing in coastal fishing. The remaining 347 fishing vessels have a length of 12-15m, more than 950 fishing vessels have a length of 15m to less than 24m and 124 fishing vessels are over 24m long. This is the group of vessels with a workforce on the East Sea, ranging from 7-15 workers/vessel. In 2023, the marine fishing industry in the city created direct jobs for more than 17,000 fishermen. On average, a fishing vessel owner in Quang Ngai City has created direct jobs for 8 workers, mainly local workers.

Sa Ky Fishing Port and Fisheries Logistics Service Center in Tinh Ky Commune attracts ships from other provinces to sell seafood, creating more jobs for local workers.

In Nghia Phu commune (Quang Ngai city), people often invite each other to join the boat of Do Van Chi (47 years old), in Co Luy Nam village, Nghia Phu commune. Because, over the past 14 years, although the fishing profession has had many quiet times due to low output, Mr. Chi's boat still earns billions of dong in profit each year. As a boat specializing in offshore fishing, on average, fisherman Do Van Chi takes his boat to fish in distant waters from 9 to 10 trips per year. In the past year, his boat has gone offshore 10 times, with the output of fish caught on each trip ranging from 7 to 8 tons. Among them, there are many types of fish with high economic value, such as red grouper, grouper, hairtail, and red fish.

By catching seafood effectively, fisherman Do Van Chi not only creates a good income for his family, but also creates jobs and stable income for 8 crew members. On average, each year, the crew members on Mr. Chi's ship earn from 100 to 120 million VND. "Working on Mr. Chi's ship, I feel secure because I have a stable income, but in return, I have to have good skills. There was a year when the price of hairtail fish increased near Tet, from 350 to 380 thousand VND/kg, our crew members' income increased nearly double compared to normal sea trips, from 12-15 million VND/person/trip to 20-25 million VND/person/trip", fisherman Nguyen Thanh, in Nghia Phu commune happily expressed.

Fishermen are excited about effective exploitation.

In Nghia An commune (Quang Ngai city), for the past 3 years, local boat owners have attracted workers to work on their boats by paying them daily wages, instead of "sharing" according to output as before. On average, each day, a worker on a boat is paid from 300,000 to 350,000 VND. The income of fishermen working on boats is therefore more stable. "The fishing industry often has good years and bad years. Therefore, recently, to ensure income for crew members on the boat and also to attract workers, we, the boat owners, have agreed to pay fixed salaries to the crew members. Since I applied this form of payment, on average, a 25-day sea trip with 10 crew members on the boat earns nearly 9 million VND each," said fishing boat owner Le Tuan Duan, in Nghia An commune.

LIVELIHOOD OF SHORE WORKERS

Not only creating a stable livelihood for more than 17 thousand seafarers, the fishing industry in Quang Ngai City also creates jobs for many workers onshore. In coastal communes in the city, thousands of workers have stable jobs thanks to seafood purchasing, boat repair, selling and repairing fishing gear, loading and unloading, transporting seafood at fishing ports, anchorage ports and private fishing wharves in the area...

At the age of 75, Mr. Do Van Dung, in Co Luy Nam village, Nghia Phu commune, can still earn 150,000 VND/day, thanks to the job of weaving baskets to hold fishing nets for boat owners working offshore. "Every 3 days, I weave a bamboo basket and sell it for 600,000 VND. After deducting the cost of buying bamboo and fishing line, each basket earns 450,000 VND in wages. Being old, unable to travel far or do any heavy work, the basket weaving job is very suitable for my wife and I. Every month, my wife and I sell 7-10 baskets, enough to cover our living expenses," Mr. Dung confided.

Elderly workers in Nghia An commune (Quang Ngai city) mend nets for boat owners working in the dragonfly fishing industry.

At the fishing port and Sa Ky Fisheries Logistics Service Center, Tinh Ky commune, for many years now, taking advantage of the port with a large number of ships docking to sell seafood, local people have developed about 10 teams specializing in unloading and transporting seafood, with the participation of more than 200 workers. "Unloading enough 1 ton of seafood from the wharf area where the ship is anchored to the refrigerated trucks about 300m away, we will be paid from 300 - 400 thousand VND. Like that, the members of the team divide the work to do, to earn income together. Thanks to this work, on average, each member of the team has 5 - 6 million VND per month to cover expenses and take care of their families," said Ms. Nguyen Thi Suong, a member of the seafood unloading team in Tinh Ky.

According to Vice Chairman of Quang Ngai City People's Committee Nguyen Lam, in recent times, with favorable conditions and effective implementation of the State's support policies, the fisheries sector, especially the city's fisheries exploitation, has had encouraging developments, creating jobs and good income for many people. However, in order for the fisheries exploitation to develop sustainably, in the coming time, Quang Ngai City will accompany fishermen to develop fisheries in a modern and responsible direction, linking exploitation with the protection of aquatic resources. Investing in implementing two projects related to fisheries: the project to upgrade and expand the Tinh Hoa storm shelter anchorage area, and the storm shelter anchorage area for fishing vessels combined with Co Luy fishing port. When this project is completed, it will create momentum for Quang Ngai City to strongly develop the fisheries exploitation and logistics services, creating more jobs and income for people.

Article and photos: Y THU

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