Hanoi (VNA)ℱ – Fishermen brought ashore 2 million tonnes of seafood in the first eight months of 2016, up 1.1 percent over the same period last year thanks to favourable weather and stable fuel price.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), combined tuna catches of three major tuna fishing hubs of Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa and Binh Dinh so far this year were over 14,000 tonnes. Phu Yen’s fishing fleet caught 3,681 tonnes of tuna, a decrease of 6.5 percent year on year, while Khanh Hoa accounted for over 3,000 tonnes, down 5 percent, and Binh Dinh, 7,289 tonnes, a rise of 6 percent. However, the drop in offshore tuna catch is normal for the season, coupled with the current low tuna price. Meanwhile, aquaculture output in August was estimated at 338,000 tonnes, a slight increase of 0.3 percent year on year, pushing the figure for the first eight months of this year to 2.3 million tonnes, up 1.2 percent over the same time last year, the ministry reported. Notably, tra fish farming has shrunk due to difficulties in market and price. The area of tra fish raising ponds in the Mekong Delta region was down 2.6 percent year on year to 4,505 hectares, but output still grew 4.4 percent to reach 741,071 tonnes thanks to high yield in some localities. At the same time, the area of shrimp farms was expanded due to favourable weather conditions. Mekong Delta localities’ white leg shrimp farming area was 55,254 hectares, a rise of 17.3 percent year on year with an output of more than 107,000 tonnes, while the area of black tiger shrimp farms was 561,504 hectares, up 2.1 percent, producing nearly 136,000 tonnes.-VNA