Paying dearly for violating IUU fishing: Taking on debt, incurring sadness

Self-incurring hardship

In response to our wish to meet Mr. Tran Tong, a fisherman in Hoai Huong ward (Hoai Nhon town, Binh Dinh), who was arrested and confiscated two fishing vessels by Malaysian law enforcement forces for violating fishing waters, Mr. Dinh Cong Suong, Vice Chairman of the Hoai Nhon Ward People's Committee, worried: "After two of his fishing vessels were captured by Malaysia and he was detained twice by the Malaysian functional sector, Mr. Tong became estranged from the community and did not want to contact anyone when returning to his hometown. Knowing that you guys are journalists, Mr. Tong certainly does not want to contact you. If you wish to meet, it is only possible to meet Ms. Nga, Mr. Tong's wife."

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Paying dearly for violating IUU fishing: Taking a risk once, regretting all the life

Guided by an officer, we arrived at the four-level house where Mr. Tran Tong and his wife are living. The house is almost empty, with no valuable furniture except for an old table and chair set covered in dust, proving that this house rarely welcomes guests.

Ms. Nga received us with a sad, lifeless face and told us: In 2016, her family's newly built ship, numbered BD 97476 TS and worth VND 5.4 billion, was captured by Malaysian law enforcement forces while fishing in this country's waters. In 2018, her family's other smaller ship continued to be captured by Malaysian law enforcement forces. This ship is numbered BD 95572 TS, built in 2010, and worth more than VND 1 billion.

According to Ms. Nga, in both cases of being arrested, the two fishing vessels were all confiscated by the Malaysian functional sector, and all crew members on board were detained. Having had two ships confiscated, which means all of his family's assets were lost, Mr. Tran Tong almost cut off ties with society. Not doing anything, Mr. Tong just wandered around the house all day. If he was sad, he would buy alcohol to drink alone.

"After the recent Lunar New Year of Giap Thin 2024, my husband started going to work for local fishing vessels to earn income and help the family pay loan interest. The happiest thing is that he has integrated back into the community, not shunning like before," Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga said sadly.

Based on many stories, we know that fisherman Tran Tong is only 52 years old but has been in the profession for more than 30 years. Therefore, he knows every place on the sea. Thus, the reason Mr. Tong's fishing vessels violated foreign waters was because he took a risk and went to look for a large fish flow, not because he "got lost," as many fishermen in the same situation often argue.

Hastily prepare money to ransom the husband

According to Ms. Nga's sharing, in the operation period, Mr. Tong had to "buy" friends in Ba Ria - Vung Tau for VND 6 million/person/sea trip. Seine fishing requires a lot of labor, so each sea trip, Mr. Tong's ship had to carry up to 14 people.

Except for him being the ship owner, the money Mr. Tong spent on 13 workers as friends cost up to VND 72 million, plus expenses of VND 120 million, so for one sea trip he spent nearly VND 200 million. If there are no fish to catch, he will lose both expense money and the money to "buy" friends. Therefore, Mr. Tong took the risk of sending fishing vessels into foreign waters to earn a large fish flow in a "go big or go home" way.

"The ship BD 97476 TS was captured in 2016. After returning home, my husband was discouraged and stopped going to sea for the entire year 2017, even though the family still had another fishing vessel. In 2018, my husband just started fishing again, and then in August of that year, he was arrested for the second time," Ms. Nga recalled.

During two periods when her family's fishing vessels were arrested and her husband was in prison, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga stayed at home to take care of her three children's education and had to hastily borrow money to ransom her husband to return home. At that time, she had to spend billions of dong to ransom her husband.

"At that time, the Malaysian functional sector sentenced my husband to 24 months in prison. They calculated how much I had to pay in fines each month before letting my husband go home. Including plane fare expenses, it cost billions of dong," Ms. Nga sadly recalled.

After that time, if fisherman Tran Tong gave up his greed for large catches of fish and gave up fishing in foreign waters, his wife, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga, would not have to worry about ransoming her husband and crew members one more time.

"The fishing vessel BD 95572 TS was arrested for the second time in 2018. After being arrested, all crew members on the ship were detained for 14 days, and then the Malaysian functional sector sentenced my husband, the steersman, to 1 year in prison and sentenced crew members to 8 months in prison. I had to 'hug' money to ransom my husband and all the crew members, not letting them spend a single day in jail. The next time my husband returned, he suffered severe psychological shock, so he was estranged from society," Ms. Nga shared.

Ms. Nga's mindset is that now she does business only to make a living, and the debt of nearly VND 1 billion that she borrowed from the bank to build a ship has not been paid for a long time. She is thinking of selling her house with the frontage opposite the market to pay off the debt.

"When we built the first boat, numbered BD 97476 TS and worth VND 5.4 billion, we used up all our accumulated capital of nearly VND 3 billion. My husband and I had to borrow over VND 2 billion more to have enough money to build the ship; now the bank debt remains about VND 1 billion. I have almost paid off the external debts of the past few years. Trading now is difficult, so I can no longer afford to pay the bank interest of VND 7–8 million/month. After selling my house with the frontage opposite the market, I went to the market to find a place to do small business to make a living," Ms. Nga said sadly.

“Previously, Mr. Tran Tong's family was wealthy in Hoai Huong. After the family's two fishing vessels were arrested, the economy of Mr. Tong's family collapsed, and Mr. Tong suffered psychological shock. For several years, he did not do anything, and his wife took care of everything in the house, so she was very miserable,” said Ms. Phan Thi Tien, a fruit seller at Hoai Huong market.