About Ham Thuan Nam to hear stories about a good shrimp and fish season

It is the main fish season in the south, but most fishermen in the province lament that the yield is not as good as in previous years. However, in 3 coastal communes of Ham Thuan Nam district, the story of a good harvest makes many people curious and wishful...

Sea deer

That information urged me to go to the beautiful southern sea of the province in early September, where there is the oldest Ke Ga Lighthouse in the country with an age of more than 125 years. The Thuan Quy sea that day was as calm as a sheet of paper, the small waves washing ashore were light, pleasant, leisurely like the souls of the fishermen here after many nights of bumper catches. The sampans were bustlingly gathered after a night of fishing, everyone was smiling brightly because after many years of "starving sea", this year they could feel the "luck" of the sea again. The story of a bumper fish and shrimp season was bustling around the cafes along the coast, everyone's family "hit it big" right at the start of the new school year, thus easing the burden of school expenses for many families working in the sea here.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Thai (Thuan Thanh village) is one of many fishermen in this sea area who could not hide his joy after more than 10 years of working in the profession, sharing: “This year, the sea area of Ham Thuan Nam has a lot of shrimp and fish coming to take shelter. For more than 2 months now, my boat has been going for about 3-5 million VND/day, some days I can get 9-10 million VND, 10 times more income than before, every boat is successful, so the fishermen are very eager, taking advantage of going every day. In addition to squid and common fish, many species that have been "missing" for nearly ten years have just reappeared such as silver fish, mussels, brown dom, especially lobsters and silver shrimps with high economic value have reappeared…”. Not only Mr. Thai, Mr. Ninh, Mr. Chinh... in Thuan Quy all "show off" with pride when asked.

The diving team must check each cluster of sand after being released into the sea.

When I asked them if they knew why their sea area had a good harvest, they said they knew, because the locality was implementing a co-management model to protect marine resources. They also knew that this model originated from the idea and proposal of Mr. Pham Cuong and Nguyen Nung - dedicated fishermen in Thuan Quy commune. Seeing that the resources were gradually depleted, in 2008, the two uncles and nephews submitted a petition to the authorities to hand over the sea area for protection, conservation, and reasonable exploitation of the clam resources. However, the idea was too new, so it could not be implemented. After more than 30 years of sticking to the sea, Mr. Nguyen Nung - Vice President of the Thuan Quy Clam Management Community Association, knows the sea area like the palm of his hand.

Mr. Nung said: “Nature has endowed this sea area with a rich variety of aquatic products, including razor clams, scallops, geoducks and other mollusks. However, due to the destructive exploitation of fishermen, the resources have gradually been lost year by year, forcing fishermen to abandon their fishing boats and go ashore. Since 2015, the Provincial Fisheries Association has built a “Pilot model for co-management of razor clams to contribute to the effective management and use of aquatic resources and protection of the coastal ecosystem in Thuan Quy commune” - the first model in the country, as a challenge for Thuan Quy fishermen”.

To create the model, Mr. Huynh Quang Huy - Head of the Fisheries Sub-Department, Chairman of the Provincial Fisheries Association said: "From the application of Thuan Quy fishermen, we also cherished the project, but at that time there was no clear legal or guidance on this model. After many meetings, exchanges, propaganda, and persuasion, many fishermen agreed to implement it, even though there was no financial support. At the same time, we had to make many documents explaining and criticizing both at the provincial and district levels. It was very difficult for this pilot model to take shape and be maintained until today."

Revived seaside village

After the project was launched, the Thuan Quy Commune Fishermen's Association immediately started implementing it, organizing the construction and releasing 10 clusters of points using the stone cage method, each cage weighing about 6 - 10 tons. In 2018 alone, the Thuan Quy Commune Community Association continued to release 7 clusters of points, of which the state budget supported 50% and the community contributed 50%. From the results of the project, in that year, the UNDP/GEF SGP Program continued to sponsor the replication in Tan Thanh and Tan Thuan communes. With support, the activity of releasing artificial reefs was increased by the people to mark the sea area for co-management, prevent the activities of prohibited fishing, especially trawls and line traps, and create habitats and spawning grounds for aquatic resources. In particular, in Tan Thuan commune, the model of "IUU Community Monitoring Team" with more than 50 participating members was built and operated.

Up to now, the Fishermen's Community Association of 3 communes has released more than 60 clusters of palm trees into the sea. "From the fixed concrete blocks, fishermen will tie palm trees made from coconut leaves from one point to another to create a shady "roof", a place for fish and shrimp to take shelter and reproduce. In addition, the Fishermen's Community Associations have stepped up propaganda and guided members in the fishing process to monitor and prevent illegal acts, protect the marked sea areas, thanks to which the habitat of aquatic species has gradually revived, and fishermen have the opportunity to have a "good harvest" like this year", Mr. Dong Van Triem - Chairman of the Fishermen's Community Association of Thuan Quy commune shared. In 2020, the activities of the sponsored project ended, however, seeing the effectiveness of the co-management model, the People's Committee of Ham Thuan Nam district decided to maintain and develop this model in the period of 2020 - 2025, recognizing and assigning sea surface rights in protecting aquatic resources to the Fishermen's Community Associations, of which Thuan Quy is 16.5 km2, Tan Thanh is 9.2 km2 and Tan Thuan is 17.7 km2.

“It must be recognized that since the model was put into operation, the fishing village here has strongly revived, many fishermen who left the sea have returned to their profession, the number of basket boats has increased significantly, everyone is excited after fishing trips full of fish and shrimp. The clearest proof is that they voluntarily joined the Fishermen's Community Association, contributing their own funds to make tram,” Mr. Phan Van Ba - Chairman of the Fishermen's Community Association of Tan Thanh commune shared.

“Perhaps, the biggest benefit that the project has brought is that it has clearly changed people's thinking and awareness. Violations of fisheries laws and competitive conflicts in exploitation in the sea area applying co-management have been significantly limited and reduced, especially violations of fly trawling, trawling, illegal diving, and the use of prohibited fishing gear/craft... From a few households initially registered, up to now, 288 households have been recruited, and more than 210 million VND has been mobilized to build a fund to maintain living conditions and organize activities to protect aquatic resources. Most notably, from the successful pilot, the model has been legalized according to the provisions of Article 10 of the 2017 Fisheries Law with regulations on co-management in protecting aquatic resources, which have just been issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for implementation guidance,” added Mr. Huynh Quang Huy - Head of the Department of Fisheries.

The fish season is still going on, lasting until the end of the 9th lunar month, so the 3 coastal fishing villages in Ke Ga are still bustling and busy tomorrow morning. More than 500 fishing boats in the whole district operate along the shore, seemingly doubled, because the story of Ham Thuan Nam's good fish and shrimp season has spread throughout the province, not only a joy, but also a pride after many years of hard work by the fishermen here to protect and preserve the resources for future generations.

Staff of the Fisheries Department and fishermen surveyed the sea area to implement the co-management model.

Although the members of the association work without remuneration, this model brings practical results, helping to increase aquatic resources in the region and significantly improve fishermen's income. This will be one of the core factors for people to recognize and support the State's policy. Therefore, the functional sector should soon summarize and evaluate the model to have a basis for replicating this model to other coastal localities" - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Hong Hai directed at a recent survey and working session with the Association of Fishermen's Communities of 3 communes.

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