Hope the first sea trip of the year is smooth
Early in the morning of February 3 (the 6th day of Tet), the atmosphere at Tran De Fishing Port (Tran De District, Soc Trang Province) became extremely bustling. Hundreds of fishing boats lined up to set sail, carrying the hope of a new year of favorable weather and full holds of shrimp and fish.
Fisherman Huynh Van Manh in Tran De town (Tran De district, Soc Trang province) shared: "The first trip of the year is not only for economic reasons but also a meaningful start. If this trip goes smoothly, the whole year will be lucky and the sea will be more favorable."
Mr. Nguyen Hoang Tam - owner of a fishing boat in Tran De district (Soc Trang province), said: "According to the concept of "a smooth start leads to a smooth ending", we hope that the first fishing trip of the year will be smooth, safe and bring a bumper fishing season".
Mr. Tam informed that on the last sea trip of 2024, his 3 fishing boats caught 30 tons of various types of seafood, after deducting expenses, the profit was about 200 million VND/boat. This amount of money not only helped his family have a prosperous Tet but also provided capital to prepare for the first sea trip of the year.
Not only offshore fishing boats, coastal fishing boats are also equally bustling.
Mr. Ly Hoang Cho, Chairman of My Thanh Fishing Association, Vinh Hai Commune (Vinh Chau Town, Soc Trang), said - The Association has 82 fishing vessels. Although the fishing time is only during the day, the vessels still choose the 6th day of Tet to depart, hoping for a prosperous new year.
“Usually fishermen here choose the 6th day of Tet to go out to sea, but some people wait until the 7th or 9th because they believe those are “good” days, bringing good luck,” said Mr. Cho.
Support fishermen to stay at sea
Soc Trang is one of the provinces with key fishing grounds with a long-standing strong fishing industry. The whole province currently has about 1,000 fishing vessels, of which more than 340 fishing vessels over 15 m in length have been installed with voyage monitoring equipment. With a fishing workforce of up to 307,672 people, of which about 5,630 work directly at sea.
This province contributes a significant part to the country's seafood output. According to statistics, in 2024, the output reached 68,581 tons. Notably, from 2023 to now, Soc Trang province has not had any cases of fishing vessels violating foreign waters.
From January 1, 2025, the province has also decided to support the subscription fee for monitoring the journey for fishermen at the rate of 300,000 VND/month/ship, applied for 2 years. This is a practical policy to support fishermen to confidently go out to sea, while contributing to protecting the sacred sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland.
