Tet is approaching, many skipjack tuna fishing boats still do not go to sea

It's the offshore fishing season, but many skipjack tuna fishing boats in Khanh Hoa are forced to stay ashore because the fish size according to regulations is not much, going out to sea will certainly bring losses, fishermen complain about losing Tet.

The proportion of skipjack tuna that meet the criteria of 50cm or longer accounts for a very small percentage in current fishing trips of fishermen - Photo: MINH CHIEN

There is less than 1 month left until Tet At Ty 2025, but according to Tuoi Tre Online, on December 31, At Hon Ro fishing port (Nha Trang city, Khanh Hoa province), many tuna fishing boats are still on shore, not knowing when they will set sail.

Lying on the shore waiting for tuna prices to go up

With more than 20 years at sea, Mr. Nguyen Dai Duong, captain of a fishing boat currently anchored at Hon Ro fishing port, said that if previously the owner of the warehouse bought skipjack tuna for 30,000 VND/kg, now he only buys it for 17,000 - 19,000 VND/kg.

According to Mr. Duong, with the current purchase price, if he doesn't lose money on fuel, he will lose money on labor, so he decided to keep the ship on shore.

"In our country's waters, skipjack tuna are quite small in size. I have invested in new nets to catch them, but the fish yield is too low. There was a time when the fish caught at port were not the right size and were not given a certificate of origin, so no one bought them," Mr. Duong complained.

Mr. Le Huu Hoa, owner of a fishing boat at Hon Ro port, said that he personally agrees with the regulation of catching skipjack tuna over half a meter to join hands in removing the IUU yellow card, but must base on reality to make appropriate adjustments.

"The important thing now is that there are not many tuna that meet the required standards to be exploited. Now, when we pull up the net, the fish are not 50cm long enough, so we dump them back into the sea. The whole trip just now lost both fuel and labor costs, so this Tet I decided not to go out to sea," said Mr. Hoa.

"The trip lasts more than a month, if you are lucky you can catch 20-30 tons, but the fish that meet the standards for sale are only 2-3 quintals. With the current price of skipjack tuna at 17,000-19,000 VND/kg, I will probably have to borrow money to live, let alone have money to buy things for Tet" - Mr. Huynh Van Tien (captain of Khanh Hoa fishing boat) sighed.

Decree 37 does not decide everything.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre Online , Mr. Vu Dinh Dap - Chairman of the Vietnam Tuna Association - said that the sharp drop in tuna prices was due to the application of Decree No. 37, which stipulates that the size of skipjack tuna allowed for exploitation is 50cm and the weight of the fish is from 5 kg/fish or more.

Mr. Dap said that the fishermen's output is mainly tuna under 2 kg/fish and size from 30cm or less, while the output of fish that can meet the minimum size as per Decree 37 only accounts for about 10%, leading to the fact that the fish caught do not meet the standards, so businesses do not buy them.

"If export processing enterprises buy tuna smaller than the regulated size of 50cm, fishing ports will not issue raw material certificates. Therefore, enterprises are forced to stop purchasing fish, leading to a decrease in demand while supply remains the same or increases, so it is inevitable that fish will be piled up and prices will drop," said Mr. Dap.

Similarly, Mr. Le Tan Ban - Chairman of Khanh Hoa Fisheries Association - said that after Decree 37 took effect, many businesses informed traders not to buy skipjack tuna under 50cm in size, so fishermen could not balance between fishing costs and profits from selling fish.

Meanwhile, Mr. Dao Quang Minh - Head of Phu Yen Fisheries Department - said that the factor leading to the current sharp drop in tuna prices does not only come from the application of Decree 37.

According to Mr. Minh, the current world economic situation is difficult, conflicts are escalating between some countries, so it greatly affects the general spending needs of people around the world, so the decrease in tuna exports, leading to a decrease in prices is inevitable.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tet-den-gan-nhieu-tau-danh-bat-ca-ngu-van-van-khong-ra-khoi-20241230141040414.htm