VietNamNet Bridge – Fishermen from central coastal provinces are still facing losses despite big catches as they are being squeezed by unscrupulous traders.

A fisherman at Tho Quang Fish Port in Da Nang Province

Many boats lie idle at local ports because fish prices are falling sharply and they would only accumulate losses if at sea.

"We're so tired of this situation," said captain Truong Van Hay. "We’ve decided to stay home despite the large catches available."

Tho Quang Fish Port in Danang City has been busier over recent days with boats are returning for the National Day holiday.

Captain Dao Ngoc Minh Tam from Thanh Khe, Da Nang City has just returned from the Paracel archipelago after a 20-day trip with nearly 20 tonnes of tuna.

"All the boats are returning with big catches but this won't bring much money now," he says.

Fisherman Tran Van Giang said that he caught 13 tonnes of tuna but with prices of VND 20,000-25,000 (USD 90 cents to USD1.10) per kilo, he has earned almost nothing.

"We spent about VND150 million (USD 6,681) on this trip," Giang says. "We were profitable when tuna was sold at over VND 30,000 a kilo some month ago. But now at these prices, we only hope we don’t lose money."

Truong Van Hay says that he has had four trips so far this year but only one proved profitable.

"Normally I catch 15-17 tonnes of tuna on a 20 to 25 day trawling trip," Hay says. "I earned VND100million in profits in my first trip when the price was over VND 40,000 a kilo. I caught more on my three recent trips but ended up losing money, so I decided to stop."

Hay added that fish prices are now 20- 40% lower than the same period last year.

According to captain of a boat in Quang Ngai Province, Tran Van Giang, fish prices are mostly determined by traders who are paying low prices to trawler crews but maintaining high wholesale and retail prices.

"Last week the traders paid me just VND20,000 a kilo for tuna but I saw them sell at VND30,000 to retail trader shortly after," Giang says.

“We all know the situation but we have no way but continue selling to them because we’ve all got loans with them for fuel, ice and food for our trips. We depend on the sales. Some of us had tried sell the catches to other places for more money but then they punish us by not lending us the money and not buying fish from us anymore. Therefore, we don't dare to do that.”

This obvious extortion has been commonplace at many fishing ports in some central provinces for more than a decade.  Giang says that there are dozens of such traders at Tho Quang Fish Port. Each trader manipulates some 5 to 7 boats.

Tran Van Linh, chairman of the Da Nang Fisheries Association, says that the improper trading policies and substandard preservation had created good opportunities for small traders to squeeze local fishermen.

“It usually takes 7-10 days for fishermen to sell their catches to local seafood processing companies when sales to small traders are much simpler," Linh explains. "To solve the problem, I think that we should improve our fishing fleet and fish preservation techniques so that fishermen have time to sell their catches to local processing companies."

“The government should also make it easier for local fishermen to access bank loans and better catching technologies, and fishermen should form collectives or groups so they have strength when it comes to negotiations," Linh added.”

DTriNews