Five vessels from the commune learned an important lesson on co-operation when they were caught in the storm 40 nautical miles offshore last September. The vessels were part of a fleet set up by the commune’s People’s Committee,
“This fleet was one of the province’s first four co-ordinated fishing fleets,” said People’s Committee vice chairman Tran Hai Duong. “The co-operative model aimed to offerfishermen chances to share experiences and closely support each other.”
It was unprecedented since, traditionally, fishermen only fished in family groups, Binh said.
“Now, when the boats go further and further out for deep-sea fishing, people are aware of danger and the effectiveness of co-operation,” he added.
The owner of one of the boats in the fleet, Lai The Son, said that the fishermen sometimes missed weather forecasts or warnings on the radio because they were too busy fishing, so timely warnings from other boats were really useful.
“Sharing fishing grounds doesn’t mean that the boat will catch less fish because Ha Tinh’s fishing grounds are big enough for all of us,” Son added. “Many fishing boats from Nghe An, Quang Binh, Thanh Hoa and other provinces also come to catch fish here.”
Before embarking, the captains of the member vessels meet and discuss a strategy, identifying fishing grounds and assigned work for each boat, another local, Nguyen Tien Binh, said.
When a good fishing ground was reached, the first boat would inform the others to gather and share in the catch, helping save the entire fleet time and increasing overall productivity. If the catch is particularly plentiful, one boat can be assigned to transport it to shore while the others continue working.
“The fish gets to the market sooner instead of being stored in ice on boats,” said Binh.
At present, there were about seven fishermen working on each boat, each averaging a monthly income of about VND3 million (US$150), compared to a local average income of about VND800,000 ($40).
The commune has over 200 vessels that exploit about 3,000 tonnes of seafood annually, worth up to VND 30 billion ($1.6 million).
The organised fleet also works as the commune’s sea rescue team.
“The local authorities have initially provided each member boat with life saving and other equipment worth VND2 million, and the commune is making efforts to raise capital to expand the model,” said Duong.
Source: VNS
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