Removing the "yellow card" must be based on 3 pillars

“Fighting IUU fishing is a short-cut, there is still a lot to do for aquatic resources for future generations, removing the IUU “yellow card” is just the first step, so for the sustainable development of the fisheries industry, it must be based on three pillars: reducing exploitation, increasing aquaculture and marine conservation”, shared by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan at the recent online meeting of the IUU Steering Committee.

Create a safe “boundary”

Not only resolutely prohibiting the crossing of Vietnam's maritime boundaries, the departments and branches in the province also seek to create highly effective maritime "boundaries" through the co-management model in the three coastal communes of Ham Thuan Nam. Last year's southern fishing season, fishermen in all fishing villages of the three communes of Tan Thuan, Tan Thanh and Thuan Quy could not hide their joy when shrimp and fish came to take shelter in such large numbers that everyone thought they had "won the lottery". On average, each basket earned about 3 - 5 million VND/day, with some baskets earning 9 - 10 million VND, an income 10 times higher than before. In addition to squid and common fish, many species that have been "missing" for nearly ten years have reappeared, such as silver fish, mussels, brown mussels, especially lobsters and silver shrimps with high economic value, have reappeared... This is a great effort of the Provincial Fisheries Association when in 2015, it built a "Pilot model for co-management of razor clams in Thuan Quy commune", then expanded it to the remaining two coastal communes.

Seafood in Ham Thuan Nam sea area has strongly revived after implementing the co-management model.

Perhaps Ham Thuan Nam district is the first locality in the country to recognize and assign management rights in protecting aquatic resources according to Article 10 of the 2017 Fisheries Law. 3 Fishermen's Community Associations, from only a few initial members, have now grown exponentially with 288 participating members, implementing co-management in protecting aquatic resources with a sea area of ​​43.4 km2. In particular, in Tan Thuan commune, the model of "IUU Community Monitoring Team" has been built and operated quite effectively. Mr. Le Xuan Huynh - Head of the IUU monitoring team could not hide his joy: "It must be acknowledged that since the model was put into implementation, the fishing village here has strongly revived, many fishermen who left the sea have returned to their profession, everyone is excited after fishing trips full of fish and shrimp. The clearest evidence is that from the initial 50 members, the Tan Thuan Fishermen's Community Association has attracted nearly 200 members to participate in fishing in the area voluntarily, contributing their own funds to build artificial reefs. During the operation, the IUU Monitoring Team with 53 members has provided the authorities with thousands of valuable sources of information, coordinated with the border guards and fisheries control to promptly handle and prevent hundreds of illegal fishing cases in the waters under their management."

Mr. Le Xuan Huynh - Captain of the IUU Monitoring Team (far right) is one of the individuals receiving a certificate of merit for his outstanding achievements in protecting and developing local aquatic resources.

Mr. Huynh Quang Huy, Head of the Provincial Fisheries Department, shared: “IUU activities are considered the biggest threat to the maintenance and conservation of aquatic resources and marine biodiversity. Thanks to the above models, IUU fishing activities are limited and gradually reduced over time, creating conditions for marine ecosystems and environments, and aquatic resources to have the opportunity to reproduce and revive. In particular, the spawning grounds of razor clam resources in Thuan Quy have been restored. Although the local community associations all operate on a voluntary basis, their consensus has contributed to increasing aquatic resources in the sea compared to the time before the model was implemented, leading to the livelihoods of many people from fishing activities in the co-managed sea area to flourish and improve.”

Releasing young razor clams in the co-managed farming area of ​​Thuan Quy commune.

The clearest evidence is that this year's southern fish season, the three coastal fishing villages in Ke Ga are equally bustling, with hundreds of boats from the entire district and neighboring districts gathering here, because the story of Ham Thuan Nam's good fish and shrimp harvest from the previous season has spread throughout the province. That is the achievement, the pride after many years of hard work by the fishermen here to protect and preserve the resources for future generations.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Hong Hai during a survey of the co-management model in Tan Thuan commune.

Marine aquaculture and reduced fishing effort

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Chien - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in addition to implementing and replicating the co-management model, Binh Thuan has a plan to encourage fishermen to participate in good models in protecting aquatic resources. At the same time, gradually reduce the number of coastal fishing vessels, change occupations, open up new livelihoods for fishermen such as developing marine aquaculture, implementing models to protect and regenerate aquatic resources associated with developing ecotourism... Only then will the lives of fishermen be stable and the fishing industry will develop in a new, safer and more sustainable direction.

Cage aquaculture in Phu Quy.

In recent years, the province's fishing fleet has made significant progress, with fishermen boldly investing in building new large boats with fairly synchronous and modern equipment. If in 2017, the largest fishing boat with a length of 15 meters or more was 1,718, by the end of 2023 it was 1,957, an increase of 239. The development of the large-capacity boat group reflects the right shift in the structure of the province's seafood exploitation force in recent years. In addition, the province has resolutely implemented, not developing small boats for coastal exploitation; not issuing documents approving the construction of new fishing boats for trawling and not issuing new fishing licenses for trawling in any form. Therefore, the number of trawling boats (dredging) has decreased from 1,133 in 2017 to only 731 now, a decrease of 402.

In recent years, fishermen have boldly built large capacity ships.

At the same time, in the context of increasingly depleted aquatic resources, raw materials for processing and export depending on imports from abroad, Binh Thuan is implementing a marine farming project when the locality has great potential for marine farming. It can be seen that the average growth rate of the province's total aquatic product output in the period of 2016 - 2023 reached 2.27%. Of which, the output of exploited aquatic products still accounts for the main proportion, but in recent years the growth has been slower than that of aquaculture, especially marine farming. In 2023, the total output of marine aquaculture in the province will reach 552 tons, an increase of 211 tons compared to 2016. The average growth rate in the period of 2016 - 2023 will reach more than 7%, a remarkable development. Increasing the output and export value of aquatic products will be one of the important driving forces to promote the socio-economic development of the province in the coming time.

Processing seafood for export.

According to a survey by the agricultural sector, the demand for aquaculture products is increasing, with a tendency to replace and reduce pressure on fishing (KTTS). “Based on practical requirements, the implementation of the “Project for developing marine aquaculture in Binh Thuan province to 2030, with a vision to 2045” is very necessary. The province’s fisheries sector will drastically reduce coastal aquaculture means, contributing to solving the problem of converting occupations from coastal aquaculture to more sustainable marine aquaculture. Marine aquaculture is also a great opportunity to restore the ecosystem that is being depleted by overexploitation by humans,” added Mr. Nguyen Van Chien - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The demand for aquaculture products is increasing, tending to replace and reduce pressure on fishing (photo: M. V)

In addition, the implementation of the marine farming project also aims to concretize the Resolution on the Strategy for Sustainable Development of Vietnam's Marine Economy, setting the goal that by 2045, Vietnam will become a strong country in the sea and marine economy, making an important contribution to the country's economy, shifting from traditional to industrial aquaculture, applying high technology, creating a breakthrough in marine aquaculture.

The best news for the province is that the Prime Minister has just signed a Decision approving the Project to build Phu Quy Island into a center for exploitation, fisheries logistics services, combined with search and rescue at sea. In the near future, the "pearl island" will become the exploitation center of the whole region and the whole country, focusing on offshore seafood exploitation, preservation, preliminary processing of products and fisheries logistics services. It is a center for search and rescue, handling incidents, emergencies, and rescue at sea to increase income and improve the lives of fishermen associated with ensuring national defense and security of the sea and islands of the Fatherland. The implementation of this project will contribute significantly to the task of controlling, preventing and combating IUU exploitation, ending the consumption of seafood at temporary ports on the island, ensuring the traceability of exploited seafood products...

Boats anchored at Phu Quy Island (photo: M. V)

At the online conference summarizing 6 years of implementing Directive No. 30 - CT/TU, on January 16, 2018, Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Hoai Anh also emphasized: Provincial and district People's Committees need to pay attention to allocating budgets and mobilizing social resources to invest in implementing effective models and projects in regenerating, developing and sustainably maintaining aquatic resources. Strictly handle acts of exploiting and fishing to the detriment of aquatic resources. At the same time, create conditions for restructuring offshore fleets associated with fishing logistics services and developing aquaculture at sea; effectively implement policies to support fishermen.

MINH VAN, PHOTO: N. LAN

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/chong-khai-thac-iuu-truoc-dot-sat-hach-quan-trong-cuoi-cung-bai-3-go-the-vang-phai-dua-tren-3-tru-cot-123453.html