Fuel price up, seafood price down

The “North fishing season” is one among main fishing seasons of fishermen in Quang Tri province. In this fishing season, they can catch many high value seafood, such as mackerel, tuna, sailfish, cuttlefish, etc. This fishing season starts from 10th month in lunar year and last till 3rd month in the next lunar year.

Price of fuel, necessities rises

Fisherman Nguyen Vinh, captain of fishing boat QT-95609TS, said that at the beginning of this year's North fishing season, the weather was not very favorable, the sea was constantly rough, the waves were always from level 7 to 8 or higher. Moreover, input costs such as fuel, necessities, etc. are high, making it difficult for fishermen to reach out to the sea.

He cited, with a vessel capacity of more than 700 CV, a trip of 8-10 days, his fishing boat consumes about 2,000 - 2,500 liters of oil. While compared to the same period last year, the price of diesel has increased by more than 40%, so the cost of fuel alone has increased by VND 18-20 million.

Besides, the cost of necessities also increased by 1.5-2 times. Meanwhile, the seafood price has decreased, for example, the price of mackerel from VND 150,000 to 160,000 per kg in the “North fishing season” in 2020 decreases to about VND 125,000 this year. There is even a time when traders only buy at a price of VND 70,000 - 100,000.

“In the last trip, my boat caught over 1 ton of mackerel and tuna, sold at VND 85 million, enough for the cost of fishing trip, but not other costs such as repairing fishing nets, depreciating boats, wages for boatmen," said Vinh.

According to fisherman Vo Ninh Binh, owner of fishing boat QT-98777TS, years ago, during the “North fishing season”, his 800 CV ship caught many high value mackerel and tuna. After deducting costs, on average, each trip was from 8 to 10 days, each boatman got from VND 6 to 8 million. Entering this year's season, the price of diesel is nearly double while the price of seafood is still low, so the fishing activities are greatly affected.

On average, each trip of 8-10 days, “my boat consumes more than 3,000 liters of oil, plus money for ice, food, etc, the cost for each trip is about VND 80 million. Meanwhile, the catch is showing signs of decline, a trip gets from 1 to 1.5 tons on average,” said Binh.

If the purchase price of traders remains at the current low level, after deducting costs, most ship owners will not make a profit. “The Covid-19 pandemic not only causes fuel prices to rise, but also affects the circulation of goods. The fish caught in the “North fish season” are mainly for export. If this situation continues for a long time, the risk of many fishing boats lying on the shore is inevitable," Binh shared.

Connect fishermen with purchasing units

Nguyen Xuan Phuong, Chairman of the People's Committee of Cua Viet town (Gio Linh district) said that there are nearly 100 fishing vessels engaged in fishing in the “North fishing season” in the town. The main fishing industry is gillnet fishing, catching mackerel and tuna. According to fishermen, the price of seafood in this season is lower than years before.

For example, mackerel with a weight of 4 kg or more, reaching export standards costs from VND 260,000 to 280,000 per kg in previous years, now it's only about VND 150,000 to 160,000; red crab from VND 300,000 to 350,000 per kg is down to VND 150,000 VND; 3-dot crab from VND 70,000 - 80,000 per kg is down to VND 40,000 - 45,000.

Therefore, to support fishermen, along with encouraging them to continue sticking to the sea, the locality has increased the work of reporting the weather situation at sea; guide fishermen to organize production activities in sea areas according to the model of production groups and teams at sea; stick to the fishing areas, discover new fishing areas, take advantage of favorable weather to reach out to the sea. At the same time, develop plan to connect with purchasing units to bring the highest economic efficiency to fishermen.

Director of Quang Tri’s Sub-Department of Fisheries, Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam, informs that the Sub-Department is still accompanying, supporting and encouraging fishermen to continue sticking to the sea; increasing information on weather conditions, forecasting fishing grounds and fishing areas to fishermen.

At the same time, speeding up the appraisal of fuel support funding for fishing vessels exploiting in remote waters according to the Prime Minister's Decision 48/2010/QD-TTg; encourage owners of offshore fishing vessels to install a post-harvest preservation system for seafood products using Polyuethane (PU) foam powder, lining the fish tank with stainless steel...

The Sub-Department also encourages fishing vessels to apply scientific advances on board such as hydraulic winch machines, led lights; equipped with horizontal detectors, radars, long-range communication machines...; advises fishermen to catch seafood in the model of groups, uniting production at sea to support each other when the weather is not good and help each other stabilize product output.

The Sub-Department, simultaneously in coordination with relevant forces and localities, organizes inspection and examination activities on seafood exploitation at sea; resolutely does not allows fishing vessels to go out to sea without sufficient procedures, papers and equipment as prescribed, especially for fishing vessels that have not yet installed cruise monitoring equipment (GSHT); strictly handles cases of deliberately not turning on the GSHT device 24/24 hours when going out to sea.

According to the statistics of Quang Tri’s Sub-Department of Fisheries, the province currently has more than 360 offshore fishing vessels with capacity from 90 CV to over 1,000 CV and over 1,600 small boats.

The traditional fishing areas of Quang Tri fishermen in the “North and South fishing seasons” are mainly around Con Co island, Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes under Vietnam's sovereignty.