Fishermen Celebrate Bigger Catches this Year

A least 1.43 million tonnes of fish nationwide have been caught, a rise of 6.8 per cent against the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, reports VietNamNews.

In the central province of Khanh Hoa, fishermen in Tam Ky City's Tam Thanh Commune said they had caught more belt fish this year than ever before.

Each small fishing boat can net up to 5000-1,000 kg of belt fish a night, and earn a profit of VND5 million (US$250).

Since June, fishermen in the central coastal provinces of Binh Thuan, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa have had a bumper catch of mackerel.

Le Thanh Tam, owner of an offshore fishing boat in Phu Yen's Dong Hoa District, said his boat caught five to 10 tonnes of mackerel for each trip.

Fishermen in the central provinces, which lead the country in tuna catches, have caught a large quantity of tuna this year.

In Binh Dinh Province, the catch has reached 5,635 tonnes; Phu Yen, 6,000 tonnes; and Khanh Hoa, 1,000 tonnes.

The ministry's Directorate of Fisheries said the seafood industry had contributed greatly to the country's economic growth.

Last year, the country caught more than two million of various kinds of fish, up four times against 2001.

However, over the past 10 years, the seafood industry has had problems in management, catching and production, according to the directorate.

The directorate is drafting a project to reorganise production to increase the effectiveness of seafood catches.

The project is estimated to cost about VND6 trillion ($285 million). The aim is to catch 2.4 million tonnes of various kinds of fish species a year by 2020.

In addition, the country's output of aquatic species reached 1.65 million tonnes in the first seven months of the year, an increase of 5.8 per cent year-on-year, according to the ministry.

Of the output, tra fish, one of the major fish exports from the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, accounted for more than 635,400 tonnes.

About 6,000 ha is under tra fish cultivation in the Delta. The price of tra fish in An Giang Province increased by VND500-1,000 a kg last week, as tra processors resumed their operations.