Quang Nam fishing boats are stranded in large numbers because going to sea is a loss.

Fishing boats lie on the shore in a row in Tam Quang - Photo: BD

Many ships have just finished a long sea voyage and are preparing to rest for a new trip, but many ships have decided to end the fishing season early because the longer they go, the more they lose.

Over the past 3-4 years, offshore fishing output has declined, causing difficulties for fishermen in the Central region. To survive, many people are forced to operate at a low level, and many have sold their fishing gear to switch to fishing.

Hold on day by day

Fisherman Nguyen Phuong, residing in Sam Linh Tay village (Nui Thanh district), is a member of a family with many generations of seafaring professionals, owning up to 5 ships, the smallest of which has 420 horsepower, fishing in the Hoang Sa area.

But until now, all 5 large capacity ships are still leaning against each other and anchored at the dock, only 1 ship is preparing for a new trip to sea, Mr. Phuong said the remaining 4 ships will not go anymore, because the more they go, the more they lose.

"In the past, fishing was very profitable. Every trip was full of fish. After expenses, all the boatmen shared 50-70 million VND, so everyone was excited to go. For the past two or three years, there has been almost no profit. All of my friends have left to do other jobs, so we are short of staff. Calculating the compensation, from the beginning of the year until now, we have broken even, only relying on fuel support," said Mr. Phuong.

Mr. Phuong's fleet specializes in catching mackerel and tuna in the Hoang Sa fishing grounds. Each trip to sea lasts at least 2 weeks. Each new boat costs at least 2 billion VND, and fishing gear costs another 1 billion VND. The investment is huge, but over the past 3 years, every trip has been a loss, so fishermen are discouraged. Many people sell their boats and fishing gear to switch to other jobs.

Tam Quang is the largest fishing commune in Quang Nam province. In addition to a large number of inshore fishing boats, this commune has about 400 offshore boats. However, due to the difficult sea conditions, 100 large-capacity boats are currently docked for many months.

Vice Chairman of Tam Quang Commune People's Committee Bui Thanh Tan said the fishing situation in this commune is very "difficult" because people are continuously losing money. The cost of a trip to sea for the smallest boat is 100 million VND, hiring 5 or more boat crews but many trips return empty, making the boat owners miserable.

Difficult situations occur in most fishing villages in Quang Nam, Da Nang, Thua Thien Hue... At Tho Quang fishing port, many fishermen also said that the fishing output has continuously decreased in recent years, making it difficult for boat owners to find partners. Many people sell their boats and fishing gear but cannot recoup their costs, so they try to hold on or reduce their fishing scale, going closer to shore to reduce costs.

The sea is running out of fish?

In Binh Minh commune, Thang Binh district, there are many fishermen who practice squid fishing. Compared to other occupations, squid fishing takes longer and is still quite stable in terms of output. However, people in Binh Minh also say that it is very risky.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh An, Tam Quang commune (Nui Thanh district), has a fleet of 5 boats. Mr. An's son owns 2 boats, the rest are under his name. Although it is fishing season, Mr. An and his son stay at home. Only one boat is still drifting at sea, hoping to catch fish to make up for the continuous losses since the beginning of the year.

"If you lose hundreds of millions of dong on every trip, why go to sea? And now you can't find any friends to go to sea. After 3 moons (3 moons, equivalent to 3 trips to sea), each trip you come back with only 5-7 million dong to share. There are even trips where you don't earn any money, so people won't go anymore.

They stay home and do other jobs that pay better. My entire fleet used to catch fish at sea many years ago, and now they come to shore regularly. It's much harder to find fish at sea than on shore," said Mr. An.

According to statistics, the entire Quang Nam province currently has over 2,700 offshore fishing vessels with a capacity of 385 horsepower or more. However, recently, fishing productivity has not been achieved, causing fishermen to leave their fishing boats on shore in large numbers in Nui Thanh, Thang Binh, and Hoi An.

Fishermen said that the sea becoming more difficult to catch fish is not unusual and has been happening for a long time, but in the past 2-3 years, fish have become scarcer. The main reason is that fishing grounds are being overexploited, especially modern fish-finding equipment, causing large schools of fish in the open sea to be gradually depleted.

The Quang Nam Province Fisheries Department also reported that the decline in fishing has occurred in large offshore fishing areas. Fishermen using purse seine, squid nets, and mixed gill nets are all struggling.

To encourage fishermen to stick to fishing grounds, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, localities with large fishing vessels and local authorities have sought many policies to encourage and support them, but the situation remains extremely difficult.

According to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Toan - Deputy Head of the Quang Nam Fisheries Sub-Department, the difficult situation of fishing is a reality that causes the catch to gradually decrease. Currently, only squid fishing is still quite stable, the rest are in a difficult situation.

"The main reason is that fish resources are depleted while fishing capacity is greater than the allowable resources. The gap between capacity and resources is getting bigger, leading to a gradual decrease in output every year. This year's output will not be achieved, but in return, squid fishing is good," said Mr. Toan.

The sadness of a good fisherman

In Sam Linh Dong village, Tam Quang commune, Mr. Huynh Van Diep is the owner of two offshore vessels including the 700-horsepower QNa90745 and the logistics vessel QNa91827. Mr. Diep was a typical offshore fisherman, invited by the Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Nam province to meet and award the badge For the cause of building and developing Quang Nam 2017.

However, after many years of continuous losses, this 67-year-old fisherman was recently forced to sell his entire net. The fishing gear including tractor, sinker, and net was purchased for 1.6 billion VND but sold for 300 million VND.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tau-ca-quang-nam-nam-bo-hang-loat-vi-di-bien-la-lo-20240824075027746.htm