In the southern province of Ca Mau the fishermen are earning good amount of money by fishing in Malaysian waters under contracts. According to officials it is too risky and illegal. Nguyen Tuan, chairman of Song Doc Town’s People’s Council, said that around 50 local fishing boats recently had been sent to Malaysia under a contract between local fishermen and some Malaysian companies.
In reality these numbers are higher than the official announcement. Local fisherman Pham Bien Gioi said his 97-ton fishing vessel had made two trips to Malaysia and earned over VND100 million ($5,417) for each trip. He said local fishing trips fetched much less money and sometimes resulted in losses.
Tran Quoc Khai, who is going to send three boats to Malaysia, told that the procedure wasn’t complicated at all. He informed that the boat’s owner first had to photocopy and notarize all necessary documents, including the boat’s registration certificate and fishing permit. Then the owner applied for suspending the boat’s operation in Vietnam before authorizing a Malaysian nationality holder to sign all related documents. In this process a broker play a vital role in helping the fisherman to sign a contract with a Malaysian company.
As per Khai information a broker helped him with all document-related procedures at US$15,000-18,000 a boat and all he had to do was to paint his boats in accordance with Malaysian regulations and get passports for the fishermen. However, Ca Mau authorities said they didn’t encourage local fishermen to send boats to Malaysia for fishing under contracts without approval from related agencies.
Nguyen Van Chien, chairman of Song Doc’s People’s Committee, asked that if Malaysian authorities banned boats with Malaysian nationality from leaving their territorial waters, could Vietnamese fishermen’s boats fishing there under Malaysian flag come back? Hoang Dinh Yen, deputy head of the Department of Aquatic Resources Exploitation and Protection under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development agreed with Ca Mau authorities.
