Co To Island (Photo: VNA) Quang Ninh (VNA) – Co Toisland district in the northern province of Quang Ninh boasts great potentialfor developing its marine economy.
Over the past many years, the district has focused on seafood exploitation andprocessing, marine services and tourism, creating breakthroughs in economicgrowth and economic structure transfer.
In addition to 4,000 ha of natural land, Co To island district owns a largefishing ground of 300km2 together with more than 50 islands. It is home tothousands of high economic value marine species such as lobster and abalone aswell as nearly 1,000 species of fish.
The island district also boasts great tourism potential with beautiful beachessuch as Van Chay, Hong Van and Bac Van.
Local authorities have taken measures to tap maritime economic potential,including assisting fishermen in using new farming techniques and building new boatsas well as calling for investment in high quality aquatic production.
In addition, the district has harmonized production, processing and consumption to ensure environmental protection andsustainable development.
Investment has been poured into infrastructure such as upgrading and expandingwater reservoirs and establishing the Gulf of Tonkin Fishery Logistics Centre.
As a result, in the 2010-2015 period, the archipelago’s aquatic output hit over50,200 tonnes with a total value of 441 billion VND (nearly 20 million USD).
In recent years, many new sea farming models have been applied, typicallytidal-fed aquaculture, which increased income of local households.
The district set up two fisheries unions with more than 200 members and 38seafood processing establishments with a total production of 850 tonnes peryear.
It also strived to boost its sea-island tourism, turning Co To islands into anattractive destination. In 2014, the total number of visitors to the islandshit 100,000, 20 times above the figure in 2010, while tourism revenue reachedabout 100 billion VND. In 2015, the locality welcomed 170,000 tourists, up 70percent against 2014.
Thanks to sea-based economicdevelopment, Co To has seen remarkable changes in socio-economic development,with improving locals’ lives. Between 2010 and 2015, the district’s economygrew 13.35 percent per year and its budget collection reached 59.2 billion VND.Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita hit 35 million VND per year.
The rate of households accessing the national power grid reached 98.3 percentwhile the rate of those using clean water was 73 percent.
Co To was also the firstisland district in the country recognised as a new-style rural area. It was the17th district in Vietnam to achieve the title.
From now to 2020, Co To has set a number of goals to continue tapping itsmaritime economic potential. It aims to maintain aquatic production at 8,000 –10,000 tonnes per year. The added value of the fishery sector is targeted tohit 160-170 billion VND by 2020, making up over 30 percent of total GDP, whilethe average growth of the sector is expected to reach 12-13 percent per year.
The locality has been calling for investment in building several aquaticprocessing establishments as well as developing local brands such as squids andsea cucumbers.
According to the island district’s master plan on tourism development by 2020with a vision to 2030, Co To strives to become a high quality eco-marinetourism centre and an internationally-staꦐndardised recreational hub in the nextfour years.
