Nguyen Van Lam from Nghi Xuan District in the central province of Ha Tinh said that it takes his family 7-10 days for an offshore fishing trip. The most recent trip earned VND60 million (USD2,608). However, fuel alone accounted for up to VND25-30 million. Following the most recent petrol price hike, the figure would rise by VND5-8 million.
Fishing boats in Thanh Hoa
Thach Kim Commune is Loc Ha District is among localities with the highest number of off-shore fishing boats in Ha Tinh Province.
Because of the higher fuel prices, many off-shore fishing boats have recently reduced their trips to save fuel costs.
Nguyen Trong Ly, a local fisherman, said that fuel costs hold 50-60 percent of his fishing trip’s total revenue. Because of this, he only makes a modest profit which would not be enough for his crew.
Nguyen Ngoc Dinh from Quynh Long Commune in Nghe An Province said he would wait for lower fuel prices to resume offshore trawling.
Nguyen Van Nam’s boat has also been left idle over the past 10 days because of his concerns about losses due to high petrol prices.
Nam said that he had suffered tens of millions of VND in losses during recent fishing trips because of the sharp rise in fuel prices. This had been compounded by low seafood prices.
Many people temporarily looked for other jobs. Meanwhile, lots of fishing boat owners have had to pay the interest on their loans.
Nam added that currently around 236 high-capacity fishing boats were moored at Lach Hoi Port in Sam Son Town.
Nguyen Tu Cuong, head of the Vietnam Fishing Association, said that the increase in fuel prices had seriously affected fishermen. So the government needed to consider offering support for them.
