Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Coastal localities have reported bumper fishing catches in the first two months of this year, with total seafood catches estimated at 473,900 tonnes, up 2.2 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
Fishermen in the north central provinces of Ha Tinh and Quang Binh brought home large amounts of anchovy, mackerel and flying fish, while those in the south central provinces of Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen enjoyed good catches of ocean tuna.
In the southernmost province of Ca Mau, each local ship has caught between 50-100 kg of ‘khoai’ fish each day after the Lunar New Year holiday, earning profit of 4-20 million VND.
Meanwhile, inland fish catches totalled 23,000 tonnes in the two month period, down 14.8 percent from the same period last year, the MARD said.
Aquaculture output was estimated at 276,000 tonnes, up 5.1 percent year on year. In particular, tra fish output in the Mekong Delta, the main production area of the fish, increased by 8 percent to 163,300 tonnes. However, the prices of tra fish as material for processing have reached record high, fluctuating between 28,000-29,500 VND (1.23 – 1.3 USD) per kg, reaching 30,000 VND per kg at times.
Vietnam’s tra fish exports reached 1.8 billion USD last year, up 4 percent against 2016, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
Mekong Delta localities reported total tiger prawn output in the period at 29,800 tonnes, up 8.1 percent, and that of white-leg prawn at 10,800 tonnes, up 2.2 percent.
Vietnam’s shrimp export value was estimated at 3.8 billion USD in 2017, up 22 percent from 2016.-VNA
