Japan tech yields good catch

 In late January, about five to six fishing boats full of tuna, which were caught using Japanese technology, returned to Binh Dinh's Quy Nhon fishing port, with each boat carrying from 1.2 to 1.6 tonnes of tuna. According to local fishermen, this was the biggest catch so far this year.

Nguyen Minh Doanh, a local fisherman from Hoai Nhon District, whose boat returned to the port after 20 days at sea, said he had caught 34 tunas weighing a total of 1.36 tonnes.

Truong Thanh Quan, who also had been offshore for up to 24 days, said he caught 40 tunas, with a total weight of 1.6 tonnes.

However, the price of tuna has decreased to VND98,000 (US$4.3) a kilogramme this year compared to VND110,000 ($5) last year, leading to a fall of VND10-16 million ($450-710) per boat trip in the fisherman's revenue.

So far, there have been more than ten boats returning to Quy Nhon port. All the tuna caught during this trip were purchased by the Binh Dinh Seafood Joint Stock Company (Bidifisco). The company then selected the best quality tunas to export to Japan.

After an earlier fishing trip in January, the company exported eight tunas to Japan.

Bidifisco's Director Cao Thi Thanh Lan said the company has sent technical staff to Quy Nhon port to purchase all tuna caught and continue to select best quality tunas for export.

Some remaining fishing boats are expected to dock at Quy Nhon port today, she added.

Binh Dinh is the first province in Viet Nam to use special technology and skills to catch and supply fish to Japan.

Bidifisco is the biggest tuna export company in the province. It exports 8,000 tonnes annually to Japan, US and European markets.

Vietnamese tuna products are exported to 100 countries and territories, including the US, Japan, Israel and Canada, as well as the EU and the ASEAN region.

Tuna exports have been the third biggest earner in Viet Nam's seafood industry with a value of $400 million in 2014, behind only tra fish and shrimp.