BTO-On the afternoon of December 19, the Tan Thuan Commune Fishermen's Community Association (Ham Thuan Nam) held a conference to summarize 5 years of operation (2018 - 2023).
Attending the event were Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen - Coordinator of UNDP/GEF Program (Global Environment Facility Small Project Funding Program in Vietnam); Mr. Huynh Van Thai - Deputy Head of the Department of Fisheries; Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc - Vice Chairman of Ham Thuan Nam District People's Committee and more than 170 members of Tan Thuan Fishermen Community Association.
At the conference, Ms. Thu Huyen represented and read the letter from the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan sent to the Association of Fishermen's Communities of the three coastal communes of Tan Thuan, Tan Thanh and Thuan Quy - Ham Thuan Nam district. In the letter, the Minister emphasized, "I have felt the restless nights of the community leaders in the face of the increasingly encroached aquatic resources, the situation we are facing with the IUU "yellow card". To me, each member of the Co-management Community is a beautiful flower... In 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will focus on expanding the model of the Co-management Community to protect aquatic resources..." Representatives of the three community associations received the Minister's letter and considered it a great encouragement, motivating members to develop more strongly in the coming time.
Tan Thuan is a coastal commune of Ham Thuan Nam district with a coastline of 3.2 km, favorable for aquaculture, fishing and aquatic exploitation. In the face of indiscriminate exploitation and fishing, in 2018, with the attention of the Department of Fisheries, the Provincial Fisheries Association, and local authorities at all levels, and after 12 meetings to collect opinions, on June 22, 2018, the Tan Thuan Commune Fishermen's Community Association was officially launched. From the initial 40 members, up to now, 178 households have applied to join the Fishermen's Community Association. On February 10, 2020, the Association decided to establish an IUU Monitoring Team of 53 members with the task of patrolling the managed waters during fishing. During its operation, the IUU Monitoring Team has provided the authorities with 320 sources of information, promptly handled and prevented illegal fishing boats from entering the waters under its management.
On November 22, 2019, the People's Committee of Ham Thuan Nam district issued a decision to hand over management rights to the Tan Thuan Community Association with 17.7 km² of sea surface. Over the years, the UNDP/GEF Program has supported and contributed with fishermen to release 14 clusters of sandbars worth nearly 150 million VND. Thien Tam Fund and the locality released 6 turtle anchors and buoys to mark the community-managed sea area. Thanks to that, seafood production has increased sharply over the years, the economic life of fishermen has developed, many households have built houses and purchased means of transportation, and their children have received proper education.
Speaking at the conference, the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ham Thuan Nam district acknowledged the results achieved by the Fishermen's Community Association over the past 5 years. Through the association's activities, fishermen working at sea in Tan Thuan have gradually changed their thinking and awareness. Violations of fisheries laws and conflicts in exploitation in the sea area under co-management have been significantly limited and reduced. Thereby, contributing significantly to the protection, conservation and sustainable development of aquatic resources.
At the conference, Tan Thuan Commune People's Committee, Ham Thuan Nam District People's Committee, UNDP Program, and Provincial Fisheries Association awarded many certificates of merit to individuals and 2 groups (IUU monitoring team and Fishermen's Community Association) for their outstanding achievements in protecting and developing aquatic resources in the locality from 2018 to 2023. In addition, Mr. Dau Trong Trung - Chairman of Tan Thuan Fishermen's Community Association was also honored to receive a Certificate of Merit from the Central Fisheries Association for his many outstanding achievements, contributing to the development of the Vietnam Fisheries Association for the 4th term (2017 - 2022).
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