Why did the model of regenerating scallops in Tuy Phong fail?

Once considered a sea area rich in valuable bivalve mollusc resources, in 2013, Tuy Phong was the first district to be implemented by the Provincial People's Committee with the project "Building a community management model for protecting, regenerating and improving the efficiency of using fan-shaped scallop resources in the coastal waters of Phuoc The commune". However, after only a few years of implementation, the model has "died young" until now.

Profits from the project

The project was approved by the Provincial People's Committee in October 2013 with the main objective of sustainably exploiting natural fan-shaped scallop resources, while ensuring harmonious distribution of benefits among users, improving income and living standards of fishermen through co-management. The project has been implemented since 2013 in Phuoc The sea area on an area of 2,628 hectares of sea surface. The project's funding comes from the province's agricultural career budget, support from Hai Nam Company Limited and the non-governmental organization VBCF (Vietnam Business Challenge Fund) with a total budget of nearly 5.7 billion VND. Through the project, a Fishermen's Community Group was established with 250 participating households and more than 60 markers were released, combined with creating artificial reefs for living resources, and more than 21 million scallop seeds were released to regenerate.

Once considered a sea rich in valuable bivalve molluscs.

During the 3-year project implementation (2014-2016), in the project area, fan-shaped scallops appeared at an unprecedented density in the past 15 years. From a density of 1 fan-shaped scallop/100 m2 in 2013, by 2016 the density of fan-shaped scallops had increased to 136/100 m2. At that time, the reserve of scallop resources had developed dramatically, leading to the protection and recovery of other aquatic species. Some species have begun to reappear after a period of disappearance such as: mullet, grouper, geoduck, cockle... some destroyed coral reefs have begun to reproduce again, the seabed and ecosystem are more stable due to the absence of trawling and explosives. This can be considered a good sign in the protection and development of aquatic resources in Binh Thuan. In addition, the implementation of the project has contributed to increasing solidarity and mutual support in the production activities of the community. Fishermen have been interested and aware of the protection of aquatic resources through organizing patrol activities, supporting state agencies in detecting and handling many violations. However, in 2015 when the project ended, the model was handed over to the locality for continued management and maintenance, but it has "died young" until now.

When implementing the project, scallops appeared at an unprecedented density.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tuy Phong district, during the project implementation, the capacity to operate, manage and implement activities for fishermen members of the community organization was still limited. In particular, some fishermen did not have the awareness and responsibility to participate in community activities. There were still some fishermen who, for immediate benefits, secretly used electric pulses, exploited scallops and baby razor clams outside the project's sea area, leading to the model not being able to maintain its effectiveness.

Scallop fishing used to be the main income for many families in Tuy Phong district.

Aspiration to rebuild the model

Mr. Le Van Boanh - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tuy Phong district added: “From 2019 to now, aquatic resources have shown signs of decline, some species of pelagic fish (mackerel, tuna, tuna, silver, lo, paper ...) and bottom fish (sandwich, termite, alum) have almost disappeared; the productivity of some occupations has gradually decreased, leading to some fishing vessels staying ashore or being sold out of the locality or switching to other occupations. One of the main reasons is that some occupations such as trawling (flying trawling activities operating in coastal areas), diving, combined with the use of electric shock, explosives ... have seriously affected and damaged the living environment and regeneration of aquatic resources. Meanwhile, the management and protection of aquatic resources by specialized forces in coordination with local authorities still face many difficulties. Especially due to the rapid development of fishing vessel capacity, mainly fishing vessels operating in coastal areas with the number of 2,227 vessels under 12m, accounting for up to 72%”.

Fishing vessels operating in coastal areas appear in large numbers, seriously affecting exploited resources. (Photo: N. Lan)

From that situation, the District Department of Agriculture and Rural Development conducted a survey of fishermen in three communes: Phuoc The, Chi Cong, Vinh Hao, and local authorities with the desire to protect and develop bivalve aquatic resources to rebuild the model. Mr. Boanh shared: “According to Decision No. 2781 dated July 11, 2023 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on guidelines for implementing co-management in protecting aquatic resources, to implement it, it is necessary to identify concentrated habitats of bivalve molluscs. Therefore, it is hoped that the Department of Fisheries will coordinate with localities to conduct surveys and identify concentrated habitats of bivalve molluscs. At the same time, it is recommended that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development consider and decide on banning the exploitation, purchase and transportation of molluscs smaller than the prescribed size. In addition, the localities of Chi Cong and Phuoc The will immediately form a mobilization committee, develop a plan to coordinate with mass organizations and specialized agencies to propagate regulations on protecting aquatic resources; the harmful effects of using electric pulses; exploiting young bivalve molluscs, in order to raise awareness among fishermen and seafood purchasing establishments. After identifying concentrated habitats of species For bivalve molluscs, the district will take steps to establish a Community Management Team according to the instructions with high consensus of fishermen.

The exploitation of young scallops and razor clams accounts for a high proportion, requiring a fundamental solution.

Tuy Phong district has over 800 fishing boats/5,000 workers directly engaged in diving and annually exploits over 10,000 tons of razor clams, fan-shaped scallops... Notably, in the first 3 months of 2024, this type of bivalve mollusk appeared in high density, with an average exploitation of over 10 tons per day; fishermen's income ranges from 600,000 VND to 1,000,000 VND/person. However, the exploitation of fan-shaped scallops and young razor clams accounts for a high proportion, if there are no appropriate solutions, in the long term, the resource will seriously decline.
Mr. Le Van Boanh - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tuy Phong district said.

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