Fishing port on Ha Long Bay (Source: VNA) Conducted by the Centre for MarinelifeConservation and Community Development and partners, the programme is part ofthe “Ha Long – Cat Ba Alliance Initiative” for 2014-2017 funded by the USgovernment.
In April 2016, the programme was launched inVung Vieng fishing village on Vung Ha islands, Ha Phong ward, Ha Long city.
Under the programme, 32 boat houses andrafts will be installed for aquaculture and tourism between now and 2018, withseven of them already operating, attracting hundreds of tourists daily. Half ofthe funds funding for the programme are sourced from Van Chai cooperative, withthe remainder from the project.
Beneficiaries only pay for breeding fish andafter three years they can buy the boat houses if they wish.
According to planning for aquaculture on HaLong Bay, each participating household will be provided 300sq.m of water areaand 180 sq.m of boat houses.
Tang Van Phien, Director of Van Chaicooperative, said the first seven aquaculture farming households will raise moneyfor a production fund.
He said the cooperative was born in 2008,offering rowing as a major tourist product with 60 small bamboo craft, 115kayaks and five dragon-shaped boats, creating 115 jobs with monthly income of5-6 million VND (217 – 260 USD).
Phien said the cooperative had outlined aplan to offer responsible tours to foreign visitors. In 2008-2013, responsibletours were held in Vung Vieng, benefiting village households to the tune of about2 billion VND.
About 15,000 travel to the fishing villageeach month, even up to 21,000 during peak months, which has pressured the environment.The cooperative assigned two workers to collect garbage and equipped 60 smallbamboo crafts with garbage collecting equipment.
The cooperative drew 5,000 VND per guestfrom service fees to renovate a lab facility.
Nguyen Van Cong, Director of the Quang NinhDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development, attributed the success of theprogramme to full awareness of responsible tourism of all participatingstakeholders and tourists as well.-VNA
VNA
