Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang chairs a meeting of the verification council for the plan on the system of fishing ports and storm shelters on November 23. (Photo: VNA) According to the draft plan, there will be173 fishing ports nationwide by 2030. The territorial waters off the central coast, fromQuang Tri to Binh Thuan provinces, will accommodate the biggest number of fishing ports with 82 facilities, followed by the Gulf of Tonkin 45, the sea area off thesoutheastern region 33, and that off the southwest 13.
By2030, Vietnam will have 160 storm shelters, comprising 30 at the regional leveland 130 at the provincial level, to serve more than 90,000 fishing vessels. The territorial waters off the central region will also be home to the most shelters, 73. The facilitiesfor the Gulf of Tonkin, the southeastern, and the southwestern sea regions will number 47, 24,and 16, respectively.
The number of fishing ports nationwidewill be raised to 180 by 2050.
During 2021 - 2025, priority will begiven to developing infrastructure and services at fishing ports in major fishery hubs, and building regional-level storm shelters, according to the draft plan.
TheMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) estimated that nearly 58trillion VND (nearly 2.4 billion USD) will be needed for developing essentialinfrastructure of fishing ports and storm shelters by 2030, including more than18 trillion VND for the 2021 - 2025 period.
Discussingthe draft, members of the verification council said fishing ports and storm sheltersare important parts of fishery and socio-economic infrastructure, and investmentin these facilities is necessary for effective and sustainable exploitation ofaquatic resources.
The plan aims to complete and moderniseinfrastructure to meet the fishery sector’s logistics demand, guarantee foodsafety, reduce post-fishing losses, and ensure safety for vessels andfishermen. It will also help with fishery management, international integration,climate change adaptation, environmental and marine ecosystem protection, and defence- security safeguarding, they said.
In particular, as importing markets have been tightening rules on food safetyand seafood traceability, exporting countries like Vietnam have to ensure thereliability of its entire fishery exploitation, importing, processing, andexporting process, council members noted.
Deputy PM Tran Luu Quang asked the MARD toconsider opinions raised at the meeting to continue perfecting the draft beforesubmitting to the PM for approval.
Henoted the plan must concurrently resolve existing issues and take into accountcurrent and future trends such as digital transformation, climate changeresponse, and the “yellow card” warning over illegal, unreported andunregulated (IUU) fishing.
Itneeds to provide orientations while being flexible enough for localities tocarry out and ensuring the fishing port system’s connectivity with otherinfrastructure systems like land, irrigation, transport, and power.
Theplan must also ensure the projects listed are financially feasible, make use ofnon-State budget capital sources, and develop multifunctional facilities toprevent wastefulness and maximise their effectiveness, the Deputy PMrequested./.
VNA
