Fishing boats lie ashore because they cannot "escape" the river mouth
Since after the Lunar New Year until now, hundreds of fishing boats of fishermen in Nam Trach commune have fallen into a state of "motionlessness". The reason is that the Dinh River estuary is heavily silted up, making it impossible for boats to go to sea.
Recorded in the river mouth area, a series of fishing boats are lying silently, anchored close together. The labor atmosphere, which was bustling in the first fishing season of this year, has become quiet. Many fishermen only know how to stand and watch their boats lie ashore, worried about their livelihoods.
According to local people, the Dinh river mouth is about 300 meters wide, the main entrance for hundreds of fishing boats. In previous years, this area still experienced siltation. However, thanks to timely dredging, exploitation activities were not interrupted.
Since the end of last year, the situation has become more complicated. Sea waves continuously push sand into the estuary, forming a sand dune more than 500 meters long and about 150 meters wide, blocking the flow. The channel is deformed, the depth has decreased sharply, making fishing boats unable to move safely.
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Mat, Head of Nhan Bac village, said that the siltation situation makes it very difficult to enter and exit the estuary. Fishermen have repeatedly petitioned the authorities to soon have dredging solutions.
People really hope that the river mouth will be cleared so that boats can enter and exit conveniently. If it is prolonged, the lives of fishermen will become increasingly difficult" - Mr. Mat said.
According to local statistics, nearly 350 fishing boats of fishermen in Nhan Bac and Nhan Hoa villages are being directly affected. This is a worrying figure in the context of the main fishing season of the year.
Hoping for a plan to stabilize livelihoods
Unable to go to sea normally, many fishermen are forced to watch the tide to bring their boats through the estuary. Going to sea now completely depends on the tide.
Mr. Nguyen Lam, a fisherman in Nhan Hoa village, said that to bring their boats to sea, they have to stay up from midnight. Favorable times often fall between 0:00 and 3:00 am when the water rises.
However, not every trip is successful. Many boats are stranded in sand dunes, damaged by waves. Many cases have lost fishing gear, causing damage of tens of millions of dong.
According to Mr. Tran Lich, Chairman of Nam Trach Commune People's Committee, the siltation phenomenon at the Dinh river mouth occurs annually. However, the level this year is particularly serious. The cause is determined to be due to changes in sea flow, strongly impacting the embankment area.
Not only causing difficulties for exploitation activities, the siltation situation also poses many risks. Some fishing boats cannot reach the shore and have to anchor offshore. When the weather is bad, the risk of being sunk by waves is very high.
In the immediate future, local authorities have mobilized fishermen to choose a suitable time to enter and exit the estuary. At the same time, they encouraged some ships to move to the Nhat Le estuary area to make it more convenient when going offshore.
However, this is only a temporary solution. In the long term, the clearing of the canal mouth needs to be carefully studied to ensure sustainability.
Dredging must have scientific basis, suitable to reality to avoid the situation of digging up this area but causing landslides and subsidence in other areas. The commune will report to competent authorities to have a sustainable handling plan" - Mr. Lich said.
While waiting for long-term solutions, fishermen are still anxious every day, hoping for timely intervention to clear the sea gate, stabilize exploitation activities and ensure livelihoods.
