The Vice Chairwoman of the Son Tra District People’s Committee, Mrs Tran Thi Thanh Tam, said that the district’s agencies and associations have been asked to give more support to local fishermen.  The focus has been on keeping a close eye on fishing activities given the current situation of China’s illegal placement of the HD-981 oil drilling rig, along with its provocative actions, in Viet Nam’s territorial waters.  In addition, the district’s authorities have encouraged local fishermen to uphold the spirit of traditional solidarity by continuing to fish in the Hoang Sa waters.

A local fisherman steering his boat out to sea

According to the city’s Fisheries Department, 87 fishing fleets with a total of 567 fishing boats have so far been set up in the city.  These boats have been operating both inshore and offshore.  The city’s 4 fisheries associations have 461 members in total, all of them being owners or crew members of fishing boats from the districts of Son Tra and Thanh Khe. 

During May, Son Tra District is seeing a considerable increase in the number of offshore fishing trips compared with previous months.  Currently, 350 fishing vessels from the district, with a total of 2,300 crew members on board, are operating out at sea.  Meanwhile, many offshore fishing boats from Thanh Khe District are operating in the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa waters.  In addition, many more local fishermen are busy loading supplies of fuel and food ready for their next fishing trips to Viet Nam’s territorial waters.

Making preparations for the next offshore fishing trips

On Tuesday, according to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (Da Nang MRCC), all Vietnamese offshore fishing boats were operating normally at sea.  The Da Nang MRCC is making every effort to closely monitor the fishing activities and be ready for prompt salvage or rescue of local fishing boats in danger or with emergencies.