It is the main fish season in the south, but most fishermen in the province complain that the yield is not as good as in previous years. However, in 3 coastal communes of Ham Thuan Nam district, the story of a bumper harvest makes many people curious and wishful...
Sea deer
That information urged me to go to the beautiful southern sea of the province in early September, where there is the oldest Ke Ga Lighthouse in the country with an age of more than 125 years. The Thuan Quy sea that day was as calm as a sheet of paper, the small waves washing up on the shore were light, pleasant, leisurely like the souls of the fishermen here after many nights of bumper catches. The sampans were bustlingly gathered after a night of fishing, everyone was smiling brightly because after many years of "starving at sea", this year they could feel the "luck" of the sea again. The story of a bumper fish and shrimp season was bustling throughout the cafes along the coast, everyone's family "hit the jackpot" right at the beginning of the new school year, thus easing the burden of school expenses for many families working at sea here.
Mr. Nguyen Quang Thai (Thuan Thanh village) is one of many fishermen in this sea area who cannot hide his joy after more than 10 years of working in the profession, sharing: “This year, the sea area of Ham Thuan Nam has a lot of shrimp and fish coming to take shelter. For more than 2 months now, my boat has gone for about 3 - 5 million VND/day, some days I can get 9 - 10 million VND, 10 times more income than before, every boat has a hit, so the fishermen are very eager, taking advantage of going every day. 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 dom, especially lobsters and silver shrimps with high economic value have reappeared...". Not only Mr. Thai, Mr. Ninh, Mr. Chinh... in Thuan Quy all "show off" as a pride when asked.
When I asked them if they knew why their sea area had a good harvest? They said yes, thanks to the locality implementing a co-management model to protect marine resources. They also knew that this model originated from the idea and proposal of Mr. Pham Cuong and Nguyen Nung - dedicated fishermen in Thuan Quy commune. Seeing that the resources were gradually depleted, in 2008, the two uncles and nephews submitted a petition to the authorities to hand over the sea area for protection, conservation, and reasonable exploitation of the clam resources. However, the idea was too new, so it could not be implemented. After more than 30 years of sticking to the sea, Mr. Nguyen Nung - Vice President of the Thuan Quy Clam Management Community Association knows the sea area like the palm of his hand.
Mr. Nung said: “Nature has endowed this sea with a rich variety of aquatic products, including razor clams, scallops, geoducks and other mollusks. However, due to destructive exploitation by fishermen, the resources have gradually been lost year by year, forcing fishermen to abandon their fishing boats and go ashore. Since 2015, the Provincial Fisheries Association has built a “Pilot model for co-management of razor clams to contribute to the effective management and use of aquatic resources and protection of coastal ecosystems in Thuan Quy commune” – the first model in the country, as a challenge for Thuan Quy fishermen”.
To create the model, Mr. Huynh Quang Huy - Head of the Fisheries Sub-Department, Chairman of the Provincial Fisheries Association said: "From the application of Thuan Quy fishermen, we also cherished the project, but at that time there was no clear legal or guidance on this model. After many meetings, exchanges, propaganda, and persuasion, many fishermen agreed to implement it, even though there was no financial support. At the same time, we had to make many documents explaining and criticizing both at the provincial and district levels. It was very difficult for this pilot model to take shape and be maintained until today."
Sea village revived
After the project was launched, the Thuan Quy Commune Fishermen's Association immediately started implementing it, organizing the construction and releasing 10 clusters of points using the stone cage method, each cage weighing about 6 - 10 tons. In 2018 alone, the Thuan Quy Commune Community Association continued to release 7 clusters of points, of which the state budget supported 50% and the community matched 50%. From the results of the project, in that year, the UNDP/GEF SGP Program continued to sponsor the replication in Tan Thanh and Tan Thuan communes. With support, the activity of releasing artificial reefs was increased by the people to mark the sea area for co-management, prevent the activities of prohibited fishing, especially trawling and line fishing, and create habitats and spawning grounds for aquatic resources. In particular, in Tan Thuan commune, the "IUU Community Monitoring Team" model was built and operated with more than 50 participating members.
Up to now, the Fishermen's Community Association of 3 communes has released more than 60 clusters of palm trees into the sea. "From the fixed concrete blocks, fishermen will tie palm trees made from coconut leaves from one point to another to create a shady "roof", a place for fish and shrimp to take shelter and reproduce. In addition, the Fishermen's Community Associations have stepped up propaganda and guided members in the fishing process to monitor, prevent illegal acts, and protect the marked sea areas, thanks to which the habitat of aquatic species has gradually been revived, and fishermen have the opportunity to have a "good harvest" like this year", Mr. Dong Van Triem - Chairman of the Fishermen's Community Association of Thuan Quy commune shared. In 2020, the activities of the funded project ended, however, seeing the effectiveness of the co-management model, the People's Committee of Ham Thuan Nam district decided to maintain and develop this model in the period of 2020 - 2025, recognizing and assigning sea surface rights in protecting aquatic resources to the Fishermen's Community Associations, of which Thuan Quy is 16.5 km2, Tan Thanh is 9.2 km2 and Tan Thuan is 17.7 km2.
“It must be recognized that since the model was put into practice, the fishing village here has strongly revived, many fishermen who left the sea have returned to their profession, the number of basket boats has increased significantly, everyone is excited after fishing trips full of fish and shrimp. The clearest evidence is that they voluntarily joined the Fishermen's Community Association, contributing their own funds to make tram,” Mr. Phan Van Ba - Chairman of the Fishermen's Community Association of Tan Thanh commune shared.
“Perhaps, the biggest benefit that the project has brought is that it has clearly changed people's thinking and awareness. Violations of fisheries laws and competitive conflicts in exploitation in the sea area applying co-management have been significantly limited and reduced, especially violations of fly trawling, trawling, illegal diving, and the use of prohibited fishing gear/craft... From a few households initially registered, up to now, 288 households have been recruited, mobilizing more than 210 million VND to build a fund to maintain living conditions and organize activities to protect aquatic resources. Most notably, from the successful pilot, the model has been legalized according to the provisions of Article 10 of the 2017 Fisheries Law with regulations on co-management in protecting aquatic resources, which have just been issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for implementation guidance", Mr. Huynh Quang Huy - Head of the Department of Fisheries added.
The southern fish season is still going on, lasting until the end of the ninth lunar month, so the three coastal fishing villages in Ke Ga are still bustling and busy tomorrow morning. More than 500 fishing boats in the district are operating along the shore, seemingly doubling in number, because the story of Ham Thuan Nam's good fish and shrimp season has spread throughout the province, not only a joy, but also a source of pride after many years of hard work by the fishermen here to protect and preserve the resources for future generations.
Although the members of the association work without remuneration, this model brings practical results, helping to increase aquatic resources in the region and significantly improve fishermen's income. This will be one of the core factors for people to recognize and support the State's policy. Therefore, the functional sector should soon summarize and evaluate the model to have a basis for replicating this model to other coastal localities" - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Hong Hai directed at a recent survey and working session with the Association of Fishermen's Communities of 3 communes.
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