Coast Guard apprise offshore fishermen in Ba Ria – Vung Tau province about the necessity of installing black boxes in their boats. (Photo: VNA)Ba Ria-Vung Tau (VNA) - Many fishing boat owners in the southernprovince of Ba Ria-Vung Tau have installed more and more modern equipment intheir offshore vessels to ensure safety during the ongoing rainy season.
Nguyen Thanh Hoa in Long Hai town has a boat with a 300CV engine and spends15-20 days at sea fishing.
He earns 50 million VND (2,150 USD) per trip since he can catch round 10 tonneswith his boat, he said.
To ensure the safety of his boat with 12 crew members on board, he hasinstalled buoys, communication systems, horns, firefighting equipment, rubberfenders and anti-sinking devices and other modern equipment, he said.
Than Doanh Hoang of Dat Do district, who has a boat with an eight-member crew,said people go fishing whether the sea is smooth or rough, and in the pastfaced many difficulties and dangers during the rain and storm seasons withoutthe modern communication equipment they have now.
In recent years, on the instructions of local authorities, offshore fishingboats docking at the Loc An fishing port in Dat Do have installed modernfacilities to protect themselves from natural disasters.
The port management board checks each fishing boat before each trip to ensurethat it has protective equipment and communication systems to ensure safety, Hoangsaid.
When out at sea, fishermen are regularly informed about weather conditions viaradio and boat monitoring devices, he said.
“Thanks to the information systems, we can proactively contact relevantagencies to inform them about the location of fishing boats and follow theirinstructions when there are storms.”
Nguyen Bi, head of the province’s Fisheries Sub-department’s seafood resourcesdevelopment and exploitation management division, said many big storms areforecasted for the remaining months of this year.
Therefore, the sub-department and other relevant agencies have drafted detailedplans and would implement them to ensure the safety of fishing boats, he said.
The sub-department has provided fishermen with training in the Law of Fisheriesand search and rescue at sea, he said.
With the province requiring installation of black boxes in offshore fishingboats with a length of at least 15m, 2,384 out of 2,901 such vessels have doneso.
The device also gives the boats information about permitted fishing areas,supports search and rescue efforts and helps keep track of the origin of theseafood that is caught.
The sub-department regularly cooperates with military border stations, fisheryinspection stations and fishing ports to ensure that all equipment on boats areturned on when they leave ports.
Fishing boats with black boxes have to keep it on around the clock./.
VNA
