January 7, 2008

Vietnam 2007 seafood harvest surpasses 2 million tonnes

Vietnams' seafood output reached 2 million tonnes in 2007, a 3-percent rise year-on-year, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The rise in seafood output was attributed to favourable weather, according to fisheries experts.

However, the number of fishing vessels in 28 coastal provinces has significantly fallen since the start of December due to rising world oil prices.

Currently, there are only 500 vessels left in the southern province of Bac Lieu compared with 1,000 in November.

Rising prices of oil and fishing facilities are altering nearly 7,000 fishing households who own almost 3,600 vessels in Ca Mau province.

In 2008, Vietnam's marine production is gauged at 2.2 million tonnes, a 6.6 percent increase from last year.