Binh Thuan striving to develop fisheries sustainably

Binh Thuan (VNA) - Thanks to its effective exploitation of advantages and right investment in fishing, the southcentral province of Binh Thuan province has become one of the major fisheries centres of Vietnam.

 

In the past 30 years since the re-establishment of the province (April 1, 1992 - 2022), the industry has made rapid and stable development steps, and become a spearhead economic sector that makes significant contributions to the locality's socio-economic growth.

Binh Thuan has great potential to develop the fisheries economy, as it boasts a coastline of over 192km and a sea area of 52,000sq.km adjacent to and connected with large fishing grounds, and has diverse aquatic resources in terms of types and reserves.

Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Mai Kieu said the locality currently owns thousands of fishing vessels with a length of at least 15m, most of which are modernly equipped.

The fishing output in 2021 reached 225,000 tonnes, a threefold increase compared to 1992, in which that of offshore fishing accounted for 52 percent.

Seafood processing has gradually developed and become an annual key export product, making a significant contribution to the province's export turnover. The locality currently has 231 fisheries establishments, of which 28 are allowed to export directly or entrust others to export their products. In 2021, Binh Thuan’s seafood export value topped 170 million USD, accounting for 30 percent of its export revenue of goods.

To join hands with the nation towards removing the European Commission’s “yellow card” warning related to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, Binh Thuan has made tremendus efforts to develop the sector sustainably.

According to the local Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the installation of vessel monitoring systems (VMS) is a leading solution to wipe out illegal fishing.

As of March, 98 percent of local fishing vessels with a length of 15m and above had been equipped with VMS, leading to an improvement of the monitoring of fishing ships./.