Why haven't Ha Tinh fishermen boldly invested heavily in production?

(Baohatinh.vn) - For many reasons, most fishermen in Ha Tinh have not invested heavily in boats and fishing gear to create a breakthrough in production, improve fishing efficiency, ensure jobs and increase income.

Fisherman Le Bao Trung always carries a basket boat to both serve production and ensure safety because his fishing boat is old.

As one of the rare young ship owners in the region who is still attached to the traditional profession, but for the past 10 years, Mr. Le Bao Trung (39 years old, in Tam Hai 2 residential group, Hai Ninh ward) has not dared to invest to create a breakthrough in production. He still uses the HT 93286 TS ship (330 CV capacity) which is nearly 20 years old and was left by his father. Due to the unsafe means of transport, Mr. Trung and 10 colleagues only dare to produce in the offshore area by using purse seine nets, catching low-value seafood, earning about 400-500 thousand VND/person/day.

Mr. Le Bao Trung said: “It takes about 4 billion VND to upgrade and convert boats and buy enough fishing gear, focusing on purse seine fishing. This is too much money, the family does not have it available to invest, and if we borrow from the bank, we are afraid of the risk of not being able to pay back. It is also difficult to contribute capital to do business because we fishermen do not like to share assets, and few people are interested in participating.”

Dilapidated and damaged fishing boats are still being used by fishermen in Hai Ninh ward.

As a veteran fisherman with nearly 40 years of experience at sea, Mr. Tran Minh Duc (56 years old, in Long Hai village, Loc Ha commune) still maintains small-scale production on a 35 CV boat. Every day, he and his son fish around the coastal waters of Cua Sot area using trawling or fishing, working 5-7 hours a day, earning about 500,000 VND/person to maintain their lives.

Mr. Duc shared: “I used to be very concerned, eager to invest in a large ship, buy equipment to go offshore to improve fishing efficiency, my son also proposed the same. But seeing many colleagues in the area invest but the results are not as expected, so my father and I had to put the plan aside. The ineffective investment is due to the capital source mainly being borrowed, the increasingly scarce resources, extreme weather, high risks; especially the lack of healthy, experienced, skilled and dedicated workers.”

Many channels and estuaries are silting up, making it difficult for large-capacity, long-bodied fishing boats to enter and exit (Photo taken at Cua Khau - Ky Ha).

In the past 5 years, Ha Tinh has invested nearly 700 billion VND to improve and upgrade fishing infrastructure. However, this system has not yet met practical requirements, which is also the reason why fishermen are reluctant to invest.

Fisherman Nguyen Chien Thang (Tam Hai 1 Group, Hai Ninh Ward) reported: “The Cua Khau - Ky Ha fishing boat storm shelter area has been solidly invested in, but the channel has not been dredged much, especially the area close to the estuary and the Cua Khau area (old Ky Ninh Ward). Therefore, it is very difficult for large boats to enter and exit to take shelter from storms, refuel, and sell products. This is also the reason why fishermen in the area are reluctant to invest in large boats.”

Because the boats are small, fishermen in Loc Ha commune only need to prepare enough food for the crew for one day.

In addition, there are also factors from general policies. Mr. Nguyen Trong Nhat - Deputy Head of the Department of Fisheries (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) said: "In recent years, the Central and the province have not had many mechanisms and policies to support and encourage fishermen to develop, upgrade and convert their fleets.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development advised the Government to consider issuing a project to restructure the industry's production towards reducing the fleet and changing occupations for sustainable development. Ha Tinh is also in that trend, so we do not encourage people to invest, especially in nearshore fleets."

Almost all fishing boats of fishermen in Yen Diem village (Loc Ha commune) are small, with simple fishing tools, so they only produce near the shore.

For the above reasons, out of a total of 2,969 fishing boats of Ha Tinh fishermen, only 510 operate in the open sea (length from 12m to under 15m), 107 operate in the open sea (length over 15m), and the remaining 2,352 small-capacity boats (length under 12m) operate near shore.

Because they only stay close to shore, have old fishing gear, and small vehicles, fishermen have not been able to make a breakthrough in production; exploitation output is moderate, few valuable seafood are caught, economic efficiency is not high, and jobs and income are unstable.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/vi-sao-ngu-dan-ha-tinh-chua-manh-dan-dau-tu-lon-cho-san-xuat-post298011.html