Celebrating the 66th Anniversary of Fisheries Industry Traditional Day (April 1, 1959)

Over 66 years of formation and development, the fisheries industry of the country in general and Binh Thuan in particular has gradually risen and affirmed its important position, becoming a key economic sector in the national economy.

Identified as one of the three key fishing grounds of the country, with a special upwelling area with abundant marine resources and many valuable seafood specialties, Binh Thuan has many favorable factors to promote the development of the fisheries industry, creating opportunities for fishermen to get rich by fishing at sea.

Leading the country in fishing capacity

Looking back on the journey of formation and development, Binh Thuan's fisheries industry has gone through many difficulties and challenges, gradually developed, strived to complete the set goals and tasks and achieved many achievements. In 2023, the added value of the fisheries industry reached 8,457.3 billion VND (up 36.9% compared to 2015 and up 158.6% compared to 2010), contributing 29.58% of the added value (VA) of the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector and contributing over 7.47% of the GRDP of the whole province; export turnover reached 211,447 thousand USD, continuing to play a key role in the marine economic sectors and making an important contribution to the economy of Binh Thuan province.

The fisheries industry continues to play a key role in the marine economy.

Not only that, seafood exploitation has been gradually restructured towards developing offshore exploitation, associated with logistics services and rearranging coastal fisheries in accordance with reserves and resources. The whole province currently has over 8,000 fishing vessels with nearly 47,000 fishermen directly exploiting seafood, belonging to the group of localities leading the country in terms of fishing capacity and exploitation output. Of the 1,957 fishing vessels with a length of 15 meters or more operating in offshore areas, there are 1,056 fishing vessels regularly operating in offshore waters, with quite synchronous investment, applying new materials with modern equipment and technology for exploitation and product preservation, capable of operating stably for a long time at sea, creating a large volume of goods.

One of the leading localities in the country in terms of fishing capacity and exploitation output.

In 2024, the total output of aquatic products exploited in the province will reach nearly 240,000 tons (100.3% of the plan, up 1.8% compared to 2023). At the same time, fishermen are encouraged to continue to expand the application of science and technology in exploiting and preserving products on fishing vessels. Currently, the province has over 600 fishing vessels converting storage tanks with Polyurethane insulation materials to replace traditional storage tanks; over 100 vessels equipped with freezers; about 90% of fishing vessels using purse seine, cast net, curtain, and scoop nets use LED lights instead of incandescent lights. In addition, there are also transfer models widely applied by fishermen such as: Model of using cold storage technology to preserve products with insulators on trawl fishing vessels; mechanical winch system model for squid fishing; Sonar horizontal detector model.

According to the leader of the Department of Fisheries, in recent years, with the attention and direction of the provincial leaders, the efforts of all levels, sectors and people in the province, the fisheries sector has had stable development, been restructured and transformed towards efficiency, safety and sustainability; continuing to be an industry with significant contributions to the socio-economic development of the province.

The quality of products after exploitation is increasingly improved.

Modernizing the offshore fleet

It can be seen that the province's fishing fleet has made significant progress, fishermen have boldly invested in building new large boats with fairly synchronous equipment. In 2017, the largest fishing boat length was 1,718, now it is 1,957, an increase of 239 (including 41 fishing boats with a length of over 24 meters). The development of the large-capacity group reflects the right shift in the structure of the province's seafood exploitation force in recent years. This fleet has been invested in quite modern equipment such as: seawater filters, horizontal detectors, hydraulic winches... fishing tools and methods are increasingly improved to suit fishing grounds, objects, and seasons. Post-harvest preservation technology has also had positive changes, many fishing boats have improved their compartment systems, freezers, and preservation tools to improve the quality of post-exploitation products to meet market requirements.

With many policies, there will be more motivation and strength for fishermen to stick to the sea to get rich.

Release more than 600,000 saltwater seafood fry to regenerate aquatic resources.

In addition, in order to implement solutions to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, the province has taken drastic measures, not to develop small boats to exploit coastal areas; not to issue documents approving the construction of new fishing vessels for trawling and not to issue new fishing licenses for trawling in any form. In 2017, the number of trawling vessels was 1,133, but now there are 731, a decrease of 402.

In the period of 2020 - 2025, implementing the restructuring of the fisheries sector towards increasing the proportion of exploitation value, of which offshore exploitation accounts for 60%, fishermen in Binh Thuan province have invested in applying scientific and technological advances, accelerating the modernization of fisheries, contributing to increasing the capacity and efficiency of offshore exploitation. In addition, the province has implemented solutions to develop good forms of linkage at sea, forming a strong logistics service fleet.

Along with exploitation and fishing, the province also pays attention to the protection, regeneration and development of aquatic resources associated with biodiversity conservation and livelihoods of fishing communities. The most successful model is the Coastal Resources Community Management model that has been deployed in 3 coastal communes of Ham Thuan Nam, opening up an effective management direction for coastal resources, creating consensus among fishermen. In addition, in the past year, the province has deployed the release of more than 600,000 saltwater seafood seeds (mainly tiger shrimp, snails, and sea fish) and 60,000 freshwater seafood seeds into natural waters, contributing to the regeneration and restoration of aquatic resources.

We believe that the policies supporting fisheries development that are being widely implemented will be a driving force to empower fishermen to stay at sea to get rich, while contributing to protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland.

From January 1, 2025, nearly 2,000 fishing vessels with a length of 15m or more will be supported with a VMS satellite service subscription fee of VND 175,000/month/vessel, nearly 50% of the current monthly VMS satellite service subscription fee, with a total cost of more than VND 12 billion/3 years from the provincial budget. Previously, the province supported VND 10 million for each fishing vessel owner to purchase and install VMS equipment.

MINH VAN, PHOTO: N. LAN

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/ky-niem-66-nam-ngay-truyen-thong-nganh-thuy-san-1-4-1959-1-4-2025-tiep-them-suc-manh-cho-ngu-dan-bam-bien-lam-giau-129000.html