The proportion of skipjack tuna that meet the criteria of 50cm or more accounts for a very small proportion in fishermen's fishing trips - Photo: M.CHIEN
On September 18, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Binh Dinh province sent a document requesting the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to consider and adjust the regulations on the minimum size allowed for exploitation of skipjack tuna (50cm) according to the provisions of Decree No. 37/2024/ND-CP, effective from May 19.
Previously, in an official dispatch sent to the authorities in mid-June 2024, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) also reflected many shortcomings of this minimum size regulation.
Many fishing boats stay ashore for fear of losses
Mr. Dang Sang (42 years old), captain of the PY 96173TS ship currently at Dong Tac fishing port (Phu Dong ward, Tuy Hoa city, Phu Yen), said that skipjack tuna of 50cm in size in the wild is very rare, not to mention that fishermen have to invest in new nets to catch them, which costs hundreds of millions of dong if they have to follow this regulation.
"Going to sea is no longer as productive as before due to limited fishing grounds, and a trip lasts more than a month. If you catch a skipjack tuna, you can catch 10-20 tons, but fish over 50cm only weigh about 2-3 quintals and the selling price is low, so fishermen are sure to lose money," said Mr. Sang.
Mr. Nguyen Van Trien - Director of Tan Phat Canned Food Joint Stock Company (Phu Yen) - also said that when applying Decree 37 in exploiting skipjack tuna, this enterprise did not have enough fish to produce canned food for export to the US, the Middle East... According to Mr. Trien, the common size of skipjack tuna is 20cm, while fish measuring 50cm are very rare.
"Therefore, when fishermen use purse seine nets to catch fish, they are forced to release fish under 50cm while one trip costs a lot of money.
Meanwhile, since Decree 37 was implemented, our company does not have enough skipjack tuna to produce canned food for export, causing workers and production lines to freeze," Mr. Trien complained.
Meanwhile, fisherman Nguyen Van Tinh (in Hoai Nhon town, Binh Dinh) affirmed that skipjack tuna with a minimum length of 50cm are very rare. "If this regulation is applied, we will not have money to pay our crew. The boats will be grounded because there is no fish to catch," Tinh shared.
According to Mr. Nguyen Huu Nghia - Head of Binh Dinh Fisheries Department, this locality currently has 6,242 fishing vessels registered for fishing.
Of which, the purse seine fishery specializing in tuna fishing has about 650 vessels, with the output of all kinds of tuna reaching over 55,000 tons of tuna/year (including: ocean tuna about 12,000 tons/year, the rest is mainly skipjack tuna and a few other tuna species).
"Of the total number of skipjack tuna caught annually, those with a length of 50cm or more only account for about 10-15%, the rest are mainly those with a length of 30cm to less than 40cm.
Since Decree 37 took effect, with the regulation that the minimum size allowed for exploitation of skipjack tuna is 50cm, statistics show that many tuna fishing boats have not gone offshore, causing many fishermen to become unemployed," said Mr. Nghia.
Businesses lack raw materials
Many fishermen said that the regulation on the minimum size for catching skipjack tuna (50cm) is not suitable for reality - Photo: MINH CHIEN
According to Mr. Nghia, not only fishermen are facing difficulties, but tuna processing and exporting enterprises in Binh Dinh are also very confused.
"If the purchase does not meet the standards, the S/C certificate will not be issued. If we do not buy, there will be no raw materials for production, no orders, workers will face difficulties, and the market will shrink," said Mr. Nghia.
Mr. Ha Vien, director of Phu Yen Fishing Port Management Board, also said that after the regulation that skipjack tuna must be at least 50cm long to be allowed to be exploited, fishermen have limited their catches while seafood exporting enterprises also have difficulty purchasing skipjack tuna with a minimum length of 50cm, because the number of fish with this size accounts for a very small proportion.
"Fishermen bring fish back to port and when checking the size, if it is smaller than 50cm, the Management Board will make a record, and the specialized agency will proceed to impose a fine.
Fishermen are forced to classify fish immediately after catching them, but with this size, productivity will not be achieved and fishermen will suffer losses," said Mr. Vien.
Mr. Le Tan Ban - Vice President of Vietnam Fisheries Association, President of Khanh Hoa Fisheries Association - said that after Decree 37 was applied, businesses informed traders not to buy skipjack tuna under 50cm in size, so fishermen faced many difficulties...
Because skipjack tuna under 50cm in size that were previously caught were all sold to canned food processing enterprises for export. Not only fishermen faced difficulties, but businesses were also affected due to lack of raw materials for production.
"We have sent a written request to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development about the difficulties and problems in applying Decree 37," Mr. Ban informed.
Mr. Vu Dinh Dap, Chairman of the Vietnam Tuna Association, also admitted that the regulation on the minimum size allowed for exploitation of skipjack tuna has greatly affected businesses and fishermen.
Among them, purse seine fishermen will be greatly affected because they cannot choose large skipjack tuna during the fishing process, while small skipjack tuna account for more than 95%.
"No country in the world has set a quota to limit the exploitation of skipjack tuna by size like our country. Instead, they set a regulation on the amount of fish each vessel is allowed to catch each year, only limiting the output," Mr. Dap affirmed.
Mr. VU DUYEN HAI (Head of Fisheries Exploitation Department, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development):
If necessary, should be set at 38-40cm
Mr. VU DUYEN HAI
Through consultation with experts from the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), the entire Central and Western Pacific region does not regulate the size of skipjack tuna for exploitation, nor do the countries in the region.
Research on skipjack tuna in Southeast Asian waters shows that the L50 length of skipjack tuna ranges from 33-42cm.
Therefore, if it is necessary to regulate the allowable size for exploitation when skipjack tuna resources show signs of overexploitation, it should only be regulated at 38-40cm.
A research result of the Institute of Marine Research has been published on the size of first participation in reproduction, which means that it is possible to allow participation in exploitation at the size of 38cm for female skipjack tuna and 38.7cm for male skipjack tuna. These are two practical and legal bases.
Therefore, we need to make adjustments soon to ensure tuna certification to maintain the market. If we do not issue certification for tuna smaller than 50cm, we will lose market share because Thailand has the opportunity to encroach on the tuna markets that Vietnam currently has.
If this situation continues, businesses will run out of raw materials and we will lose the market. Meanwhile, developing and capturing a market takes 5-10 years and it is very difficult to regain it.
Will investigate and survey to give suitable size
Mr. Le Tran Nguyen Hung, Deputy Director of the Department of Fisheries Surveillance (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), said that Mr. Le Minh Hoan, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, had just met with departments and divisions to listen to reports on some problems with Decree 37-2024 amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 26-2019 of the Government detailing a number of articles and measures to implement the Law on Fisheries, including problems related to regulations on the size of skipjack tuna.
"After listening to the report, the Minister assigned the Fisheries Control Department to coordinate with the Legal Department to prepare a report for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to submit and ask for the Government's opinion on amending the regulations on the exploitation size of some species, including skipjack tuna. While waiting for amendments, temporarily suspend the application of regulations on exploitation size for skipjack tuna," said Mr. Hung.
According to Mr. Hung, in the coming time, the Fisheries Control Department will coordinate with relevant units to investigate and survey to come up with a suitable size, both ensuring protection, restoration and development of aquatic resources and meeting the requirements for exploitation, processing and export.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/quy-dinh-khai-thac-ca-ngu-van-chua-phu-hop-nhung-bao-gio-sua-2024092908363898.htm
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