Binh Dinh (VNA) - Afishing boat has caught more than 1.1 tonnes of tuna off Quy Nhon city in thecentral province of Binh Dinh.
The off-season catch was sold for110,000 VND (4.84 USD) per kilogramme.
Tran Quang Bao, captain of theboat, said tuna prices had increased by around 12,000 VND (53 cents) perkilogramme since last month.
"The price is quite high andso fishing boats and their crews have high incomes. We are quickly stocking upon food and water to return to the sea."
According to the provincialDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development, so far this year the fishermenhave caught 8,511 tonnes of tuna, up 18.6 percent compared to the same periodlast year.
On average, a boat earns 70-80million VND (3,077-3,517 USD) per trip.
Nguyen Viet Nghia, deputydirector of the Institute for Seafood Research, said 485,600-502,900 tonnes oftuna are caught off central provinces every year.
The boats are mainly from Phu Yen,Khanh Hoa and Binh Dinh, and their catches comprise yellow fin tuna, big eyetuna and skipjack tuna, he said.
Binh Dinh was the first provinceto use new technologies and skills to supply fish to Japan, especially tuna.
By 2014 the province’s fishermenhad modern equipment and technologies worth 1 million USD to catch, preserveand transport tuna.
In September that year the firsttuna was exported to Japan and sold at three times the price the fish fetchesin the Vietnamese market.
The province has around 3,200 fishingboats.-VNA