Although it is the main fishing season, the atmosphere at Xuan Hoi Fishing Port (Nghi Xuan) is quite gloomy. Only a few fishing boats docked, but the fishermen were not happy because of the low output. Many trips did not have enough fuel costs, so the boats had to stay ashore for many days...
Fisherman Dao Minh Quang in Thai Phong village shared: Having been involved in the fishing industry for decades, I have never seen seafood exploitation as difficult as this year. In the first months of 2025, my boat was mostly stuck on the shore due to losses. There were lucky trips where we broke even or made very little profit. Like this trip, we caught 5kg of various seafood, earned 1.5 million VND, minus expenses, we made a profit of 100,000 VND. At this time last year, I earned 4-5 million VND per trip from squid fishing.
Sharing the same sentiment, fisherman Tran Quoc Dung in An Toan Long village said: “Since the beginning of the year, my family's pair of offshore fishing boats have only been able to go offshore 3 times. Normally, each trip takes us 10-12 days to return, but the yield is low, so we have to reduce the time to 1/3. In total, each fishing trip still loses nearly 50 million VND in fuel, not to mention paying wages for 6 crew members and other expenses... I also don't understand why this year's seafood resources are so depleted. I'm currently keeping my boat on shore, taking the opportunity to paint and refurbish the fishing boat, hoping that the next trip will be luckier."
According to fishermen, every year from March to June, Xuan Hoi Fishing Port is always bustling with boats coming in and out of the port. This is the time when squid fishing is in season, which is an opportunity for fishermen to earn high income. However, the squid fishing business at the beginning of the year is in trouble, fishermen go to sea from 2am to 3pm and return home with almost no fuel money, only lucky boats get 2-3 kg of squid. Low output, many fishing boats anchor on the shore despite favorable weather. Seafood fishing is facing many difficulties, not only affecting the income of boat owners and crew members but also affecting the workers providing logistics services for the fishing industry here.
“The fishing industry has its ups and downs, but right now the sea is really difficult. It is the tourist season, the demand for seafood is high, traders have to compete to buy each kilo. At the same time last year, it was possible to buy 100-200 kg of seafood in one day,” said a trader in Xuan Thanh commune.
The entire Xuan Hoi commune currently has 36 boats of various types with 102 workers. Due to low productivity, at this time there are only about 8-10 fishing boats going to sea to catch seafood for daily living.
Ms. Ngo Thi Thu Giang - Head of Xuan Hoi Fishing Port said that normally this season is favorable for fishing, with high output, but this year fishermen are facing difficulties, so activities at the fishing port are quite quiet. According to statistics, the number of fishing vessels arriving and leaving the port in the first 5 months of 2025 was 338, down 282 compared to the same period last year; the output through the port reached nearly 38 tons (mainly trash fish), of which more than 4.5 tons of squid, down more than 30 - 40% compared to previous years.
According to Mr. Nguyen Tien Thanh - Vice Chairman of Xuan Hoi Commune People's Committee, through understanding the situation from some fishermen, the cause of low output may be due to overexploitation, combined with climate change causing a decline in marine resources, affecting the livelihoods of fishermen. Xuan Hoi fishermen are also hoping that the second lunar month of June in the year will extend the favorable time for the fishing season, the seafood fishing grounds will improve so that they can actively go offshore, stick to the sea to catch seafood, making up for the days of lying on the shore, suffering losses...
Source: https://baohatinh.vn/ngu-dan-xuan-hoi-khong-con-man-ma-bam-bien-post290004.html
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