With the goal of becoming a high-tech marine farming center in the North, Quang Ninh province has planned more than 45,000 hectares of sea surface for aquaculture.
Of these, more than 31,000 hectares are allocated to organizations and individuals currently producing; more than 14,000 hectares are reserved to attract large-scale investment projects.
According to the marine space division, the area within 3 nautical miles accounts for 53% (nearly 24,000 hectares), the 3-6 nautical miles area accounts for 28.8% and the area outside 6 nautical miles accounts for more than 8,200 hectares.
About 13,000 hectares are oriented for mollusk farming, 5,000 hectares for sea fish farming; the rest is for waterway transportation, self-healing buffer zone and environmental protection area.
Thanks to the methodical planning, concentrated farming areas in coastal localities are forming many industrial farming models using HDPE cages, environmentally friendly floating materials and modern management technology.
To date, the actual area of Rural Development has reached more than 10,000 hectares, an increase of 150% compared to 2020. marine farming output accounts for 65% of total aquatic product output, the production value is estimated to reach VND 7,000 billion in 2024, expected to increase to more than VND 16,600 billion by 2030.
The Department of Agriculture and Environment has granted 41 development permits to organizations with a total area of over 4,150 hectares; localities have granted more than 503 hectares to 817 individuals, reaching 100% of eligible documents. This helps manage farming areas transparently, avoiding overlap and creating a foundation for large-scale production development.
However, the implementation process has caused many problems. Notably, the collection of fees for using coastal areas according to Decision 28/2021/QD-UBND is at the maximum level of 7.5 million VND/ha/year. For developers - an industry at high risk, dependent on natural disasters - this revenue accounts for 15-25% of direct production costs, with some projects reaching nearly 30%. After storm No. 3 (Yagi) caused heavy damage in 2024, many farming households have not recovered, causing the cost burden to increase.
From that reality, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has proposed that the Provincial People's Committee adjust the collection rate for renewable energy to 4 million VND/ha/year - the minimum level according to Decree 11/2021/ND-CP to facilitate investment in modern, large-scale marine farming.
According to the reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper, in addition to difficulties in the cost of using the sea area, cooperatives and businesses also have difficulty in preparing documents, measuring diagrams, assessing environmental impacts... due to lack of expertise, having to hire consultants at high costs. Some localities are still slow to confirm the boundaries and coordinates of the project; some plans overlap with the buffer zone of Ha Long Bay heritage.
To remove these problems, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has requested localities to provide maximum support in arranging farming locations, confirming planning compliance, preventing overlapping projects; requiring organizations and individuals to strictly follow instructions, proactively complete documents.
The licensing and allocation of sea surface not only creates sustainable livelihoods for people but is also an important solution for Quang Ninh to realize the high-tech marine farming development strategy, associated with environmental protection and marine ecotourism.
