The 5th session of the People's Council of Gia Lai province, term XII, 2021-2026 (taking place on December 8 and 9.2) passed 65 important resolutions, creating a legal framework for many development areas of the province.
Among these, the resolution regulating the policy of "supporting job conversion and localization for fishing vessels that no longer have the need to operate or are not qualified to exploit aquatic products" is considered a solution to remove difficulties for fishermen and contribute to combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
This policy aims to remove unqualified fishing vessels from the management system, contributing to meeting the requirements of removing the EC "yellow card" and restructuring the fleet in the direction of reducing fishing effort and protecting aquatic resources. At the same time, it creates conditions for ship owners and fishermen to seek new livelihoods and stabilize their lives when they are forced to remove their ships from fishing activities.
Financial mechanisms (support for demolition of ship lining and machinery), along with policies to support job conversion for affected ship owners and crew members, to ensure social security and facilitate law enforcement.
The support level for rebuilding fishing vessels is calculated according to the percentage of the value of newly built lining, depending on the operating period: under 5 years of operation, 80% support will be provided, equivalent to 21.795 million VND/ton of registration; from 5 to under 10 years, 70% support will be provided, equivalent to 19.075 million VND/ton of registration; from 10 to under 20 years, 60% support will be provided, equivalent to 16.35 million VND/ton of registration; 20 years or more will be supported with 50%, equivalent to 13.625 million VND/ton of registration.
For fishing vessels with used main engines, the support level is 70% of the engine value, equivalent to VND591.5 thousand/CV. The one-time payment support does not include the cost of dismantling and destroying the ship. The application period is until December 31, 2026.
Ship owners and members of the household eligible for exemption are supported with one-time vocational training if participating, including the maximum training cost of VND 3 million/person/month/current; meals of VND 900,000/person/month; travel expenses of VND 200,000/person/current, up to 3 months.
Fishermen are also given priority to access to free job counseling and referral programs, preferential loans to create and maintain jobs, or work abroad under contracts; participate in projects to support livelihood conversion, startups in agriculture, aquaculture and coastal services implemented by the province.
The total estimated budget for this policy is nearly 138 billion VND, to ensure sustainable livelihoods for people and achieve the goal of combating IUU violations and sustainable development of the fisheries sector.
According to Mr. Tran Quoc Khanh - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Gia Lai province, there are currently 360 fishing vessels that are not qualified for exploitation, posing a high risk of IUU violations, making management difficult. Seafood resources are declining due to the high intensity of exploitation, requiring early restructuring of the exploiting fleet.
This version of the policy is a fundamental step to handle small, unsafe fishing vessels, while opening up a direction for livelihood conversion for fishermen.
