BEN TRE (VNS) – During storms, only a few dozen fishing boats shelter in a safe-anchorage site designed for 1,000 in southern Ben Tre Province’s Binh Thang Commune.
The commune has a total of nearly 600 deep-sea fishing vessels.
The safe anchorage site was opened in 2012 at a cost of VND47 billion (US$2.2 million).
Do Van Thuan, owner of two deep-sea fishing vessels, said once when fishing boats tried to enter the canal leading to the site, they were prevented by fishing nets spread across it.
In addition, he said two roads leading to the site were small, narrow and dirt covered, making it inconvenient to access.
He said another problem was that fishermen preferred to anchor their boats near their homes so they could more easily maintain their fishing equipment.
Then there was the problem of alluvium sedimentation at the river mouth, according to Nguyen Minh Tri, vice chairman of the communal People’s Committee.
Statistics showed that the propellers of six fishing vessels were broken when trying to cross the sediment last year, he said.
It cost about VND200 million ($9,400) to repair each vessel.
Tri said that the committee had asked the provincial authority to find ways to resolve the situation, but nothing had changed.
A representative from the provincial Agricultural and Rural Development Department said that it would cost VND10 billion to build the roads and that the department would consider this in the future. – VNS
Đăng ký: VietNam News