In the first days of the Year of the Cat, fishermen in the south central provinces began a new fishing season in the fishing grounds of the Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelagoes.

Hon Ro fishing port in Khanh Hoa province was busy stocking fishing boats with fuel and ice for their first voyage of the year.

Nguyen Duc, a ship owner in Quang Ngai province, and his crew of 10, will depart for Truong Sa on Tuesday.

“I just returned from celebrating Tet in my hometown. I’m preparing fishing nets for our first voyage and loading fuel and ice for our departure. Truong Sa has many islands where fish are abundant in the first three lunar months. We’ll fish there for about 20 days,” Duc said.

Last year, Khanh Hoa province’s aquatic output totaled 95,000 tons. The territorial waters of Truong Sa and DK1 platform are the main fishing grounds of Khanh Hoa province. Its fishermen boost Vietnam’s economic development while defending sea and island sovereignty.

Each year, the offshore fishing fleet conducts 9 or 10 voyages. Each trip lasts about a month. To prepare for the new fishing season, boat owners advance pay to their crew.

Source: VOV5