In recent days, in the coastal villages along Xuan Dai Bay, people have been busy repairing and building new fish cages. The sounds of saws, drills, and people calling out to each other to mend nets and build cage frames fill the air. The newly reinforced cages are being launched, demonstrating the fishermen's determination to stay at sea and continue their profession after the "shock" of the natural disaster.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hieu's family (Song Cau ward) suffered heavy losses when all their aquaculture rafts were completely destroyed; the strong storm and rapidly rising floodwaters caused freshwater to inundate the farming area, resulting in mass shrimp deaths. Immediately after the storm and flood, without waiting for assistance, Mr. Hieu hired workers to rebuild new rafts, working continuously for many days to quickly stabilize production. "For the people of Xuan Dai Bay, aquaculture is not only a livelihood but also a generational profession. If the rafts are damaged, we rebuild them; if the shrimp die, we buy new fry to continue farming. We try to preserve the profession, and the difficulties will eventually pass," Mr. Hieu asserted.
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Fishermen are repairing their fish farms to restore production after the storm and floods. |
During the recent storms and floods, thousands of fish cages belonging to fishermen in the bay were swept away by waves, their nets torn, and frames broken, rendering them unusable. Putting aside the losses, the fishermen borrowed and pooled money to buy new nets, build new frames, and meticulously sew each cage mesh, preparing for the new farming season. Mr. Pham Van Khoa (Song Cau ward) said: “My family is building three more cages to replace the damaged ones. After that, we will need to farm for another 1-2 years to recoup our investment and partially compensate for the losses.”
Nevertheless, the path to restoring lobster farming in Xuan Dai Bay still faces numerous difficulties.
Mr. Nguyen Van Anh, a lobster farmer in Song Cau ward, shared that after the recent floods, his family suffered losses of approximately 5 billion VND, mainly from bank loans and unpaid bills for lobster larvae. “Almost all our capital is gone, while the debts remain. Our greatest hope right now is for the bank to reschedule the old debt and provide new loans so we can resume production, continue our work, earn money to repay debts, and maintain our livelihoods,” Mr. Anh expressed.
According to lobster farmers, to resume production, they must invest in rebuilding cages, constructing new rafts, purchasing juvenile lobsters, and paying for feed. These are all unavoidable expenses. Mr. Bach Van Thuong (Song Cau ward) calculated that the initial cost of stocking juvenile lobsters is approximately 24 million VND per cage. On average, each farming household in Xuan Dai Bay has about 20 cages, equivalent to an initial capital of up to 480 million VND. With such a large investment, in the context of having suffered total losses after the natural disaster, farmers desperately need support to restore production. "If farmers cannot resume production, it means losing their livelihood, because besides lobster farming, we have almost no other way to make a living," Mr. Thuong shared.
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The fish farms suffered minimal damage, and the locals repaired them right on the lagoon. |
Local authorities are currently urgently compiling damage statistics as a basis for implementing support policies. “Solutions such as debt restructuring, debt deferral, and new loans with preferential interest rates are considered ‘lifelines’ to help fishermen start over. The locality hopes that all levels and sectors will pay attention and provide timely support so that people can quickly restore production,” said Vo Ngoc Thach, Chairman of the People's Committee of Song Cau Ward.
Source: https://baodaklak.vn/kinh-te/202512/thu-phu-tom-hum-guong-day-sau-bao-lu-8210eb2/
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