Speed up the progress of aquaculture sea transfer

According to the Quang Ninh Provincial Planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, the area of aquaculture development sea area is 45,146 hectares. In order to promptly grant licenses and hand over sea areas for aquaculture, right after the Lunar New Year 2025, localities have accelerated the progress, proactively met, grasped the thoughts and aspirations of households, units and aquaculture organizations, thereby removing difficulties and obstacles, completing the set goals.

Aquaculture households in Van Don actively release buoys and plant new varieties. Photo: Ngan Ha, Van Don District Cultural and Information Center. — Aquaculture households in Van Don actively release buoys and plant new varieties, November 2024. Photo: Ngan Ha (Van Don Cultural and Information Center)

In mid-February, a number of localities held conferences to resolve difficulties and obstacles for organizations and individuals in preparing dossiers for allocating aquaculture areas. In Quang Yen Town, with over 865 hectares of aquaculture area integrated into the province's Master Plan, the Town Steering Committee has assigned farming areas, along with locations and farming diagrams in the aquaculture area to a number of qualified organizations and individuals. However, after storm No. 3 (Yagi storm in 2024), the locations of farming plots and cages... of organizations and individuals were flattened, causing economic losses, as well as leading to disruptions in farming locations and diagrams. Therefore, the Town Steering Committee held a conference to resolve difficulties and obstacles for these units.

Up to now, along with implementing solutions to support fishermen to restore production after storm No. 3, the town has also actively accelerated the progress of handing over seas to organizations and individuals. The whole town has had over 70% of the cages restored by households compared to the time before storm No. 3 and over 70% of the planned farming area has been allocated to organizations and individuals according to the project, so that households and units can feel secure in production.

In Van Don district, up to now, the district has assigned 5 households to raise fish within a 3-nautical mile area with 2.6 hectares; 1 Trung Nam Aquatic Cooperative was assigned a sea area by the Provincial People's Committee and 5 cooperatives with complete documents were granted licenses for aquaculture at sea. However, at the conference to remove difficulties, individuals and organizations requested the People's Committee of Van Don district, relevant departments and branches to consider shortening the licensing process, environmental impact assessment, as well as consider increasing the area of fish cages assigned to households; requested the district and departments to consider removing shortcomings in implementing support and exemption of water surface fees for households to restore production activities after storm No. 3...

Farmers in Quang Yen town signed a commitment to unify the contents that have been propagated in accordance with the Fisheries Law in the planning area. Photo: Bui Nien, Quang Yen town Cultural and Information Center.

Van Don district aims to complete the assignment of district-level sea areas in the first quarter of 2025. To ensure the proposed roadmap, Mr. Dao Van Vu, Standing Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee, emphasized that households and cooperatives with aquaculture activities in the district should be proactive in establishing production development projects and implementing procedures. People's Committees of communes and towns with sea areas should strictly manage the initial production declaration and registration of aquaculture in cages and rafts in the management area. Van Don district also proposed to the Provincial People's Committee to direct relevant departments and branches to coordinate with the district to organize the implementation and notify the project that must assess the environmental impact, the project does not have to conduct an environmental impact report and provide specific instructions for individuals, people and cooperatives requesting to rent sea areas beyond 6 nautical miles in accordance with regulations.

In Cam Pha, the city recently organized the second draw of farm plot locations for individuals engaged in aquaculture according to the Plan for developing aquaculture at sea in Cam Pha City, Quang Ninh Province to 2030, with a vision to 2045. After 2 draws, a total of 324 individuals drew 241 oyster mollusk farming locations; 77 fish farming locations. Comrade Dinh Ngoc Chien, member of the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee said: After individuals were drawn for specific farm plot locations, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, People's Committees of wards and communes guided households to complete the documents. When the province or city assigns the sea area, households must strictly carry out farming in the assigned area; comply with the provisions of law. After 12 months of not carrying out farming activities or having acts of leasing or transferring to others for farming, the city will proceed to reclaim according to regulations.

In 2024, 5/9 localities in the province (including Quang Yen, Cam Pha, Van Don, Hai Ha, Dam Ha) have assigned sea areas to individuals under the authority of the district-level People's Committee with a total of 470 individuals with a total area of 288.9 hectares; temporarily handed over the sea area boundary to restore production after storm No. 3 to a total of 1,208 individuals with an area of 8,588.7 hectares... In 2025, localities, individuals and units will have many favorable conditions to speed up the licensing of aquaculture and assignment of sea areas for aquaculture in the province. Difficulties and obstacles in environmental impact assessment in aquaculture have been basically resolved in Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP dated January 6, 2025. Along with that, the organization of specialized agencies and the Administrative Center are being arranged to unify one focal point, helping to resolve administrative procedures more conveniently. In addition, the dossier of sea area allocation of Trung Nam Aquatic Cooperative has been approved, this will be a sample dossier for entities to apply in preparing dossiers for granting aquaculture licenses and assigning sea areas for aquaculture.

The Provincial People's Committee also set a target that by the end of the first quarter of 2025, localities must complete the submission for approval of project documents on the allocation of marine areas for aquaculture that have been prepared for seeding. At the same time, proactively guide the subjects to urgently complete the aquaculture licensing documents and allocate marine areas for aquaculture. The province also noted that localities need to pay attention to allocating marine surface funds in the planning area from 3 to 6 nautical miles and orienting the area beyond 6 nautical miles to attract large-scale industrial marine aquaculture projects.

By 2025, the agricultural sector is also determined to basically complete the licensing of aquaculture and the allocation of marine areas for aquaculture in the province. The allocation of marine areas must be consistent with the planning, and aquaculture areas must be managed in accordance with sustainable development regulations. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen inspection and handling of violations according to the provisions of law; and put an end to the situation where aquaculture does not comply with regulations on the allocation of marine areas.

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