Hanoi (VNA) –Vietnam has become one of the topfive exporters of aquatic products in the world thanks to the development ofthe fisheries sector over the past years.

With a coastline of over 3,260km, Vietnam’s waters are hometo over 2,000 marine species with annual total fishing capacity of 2 milliontonnes. Statistics showed that offshore and inshore fishing catches grow by 5percent annually on average, reaching an estimated 3.1 million tonnes last yearand 3 million tonnes in the first 11 months this year.

As of the end of 2016, the country registered nearly 110,000fishing vessels, including over 2,800 logistics vessels and 31,000 ships withcapacity of more than 90CV.

Aquaculture also saw rapid growth, with total output rising to3.6 million tonnes in 2016 from 3.5 million tonnes in 2015. In the Jan-Novperiod this year, the figure was more than 3.4 million tonnes, contributing topoverty reduction and job creation.

Export of aquatic products has increased strongly overrecent years with an annual growth of 15.6 percent. From 550 million USD in1995, export value rose to 7.8 billion USD in 2014. After declining to 6.7billion USD in 2015, 7.05 billion USD in 2016 due to market difficulties, thevalue topped 7.5 billion USD in the first 11 months this year.

Vietnam currently ships aquatic products to over 150markets, with the main markets being the US, Japan, China and the Republic ofKorea.

The country’s participation in many trade deals is expectedto bring more opportunities for domestic aquatic products and enhance their competitivenessthanks to incentives and preferential tariff while domestic firms will improvemanufacturing chain and added value.

Under the master plan on Vietnam’s fisheries sector to 2020with vision to 2030, Vietnam will build six large-scale fisheries centres inthe northern port city of Hai Phong, the central city of Da Nang and provinceof Khanh Hoa, the southern provinces of Ba Ria – Vung Tau and Kien Giang, andthe Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, each of them is closely associated with keyfishing grounds.

Solutions proposed for the fisheries sector’s sustainabledevelopment include investing in infrastructure and fishing vessels, modernizingaquaculture techniques, and promoting mechanisation and automation inprocessing to improve export value.-VNA