The fishing industry in south-central Vietnam relies on co-management and the ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management (EAFM) to sustain the health of coastal marine areas. Vietnam’s 3,260-km coastline hosts a diversity of marine resources such as coral reefs and seagrass beds as well as more than 1,080 species of fish. The health of Vietnam’s coastal and marine ecosystems is fundamental to the food security, livelihoods and social stability of more than 4 mn Vietnamese people who directly or indirectly benefit from the exploitation of marine resources. Small-scale fisheries are abundant in Bind Dinh, located in the south-central coast of Vietnam, making up nearly 40 per cent of the country’s small-scale fishing fleet. Fishing is a common source of livelihood and income generation at the household level

Hien, Than Thi

English

Aquatic Commons

39
FEBRUARY 2020
Learning from Experience
The fishing industry in south-central vietnam relies on co-management and the ecosystem-
based approach to fisheries management (EAFM) to sustain the health of coastal marine areas 
vietnam’s 3,260-km coastline hosts a diversity of marine resources such as coral reefs 
and seagrass beds as well as more 
than 1,080 species of fish. The health 
of Vietnam’s coastal and marine 
ecosystems is fundamental to the food 
security, livelihoods and social stability 
of more than 4 mn Vietnamese people 
who directly or indirectly benefit from 
the exploitation of marine resources.
Small-scale fisheries are abundant 
in Bind Dinh, located in the southcentral 
coast of Vietnam, making up nearly 40 
per cent of the country’s small-scale 
fishing fleet. Fishing is a common source 
of livelihood and income generation at 
the household level.
The health of Vietnam’s marine 
and coastal ecosystems and, therefore, 
the sustainability of Vietnam’s 
fishing industry, is compromised by 
illegal, unreported and unregulated 
(IUU) fishing activities. They include 
overfishing and destructive methods 
like trawling and the use of explosives. 
These prevalent illegal practices 
destroy and deplete near-shore 
aquatic resources. The negative effects 
of overexploitation are visible. For 
example, fishermen’s earnings from 
fishing activities are at times not 
enough to cover costs. These challenges 
are intensified by weak enforcement 
of the Fisheries Law of 2017 and other 
regulations that prohibit IUU fishing. 
National and international 
organizations are currently using co-
management and an ecosystem-based 
approach to fisheries management 
(EAFM) to reduce the decline of coastal 
marine resources in Vietnam. They 
encourage sustainable development, 
protect the interests and rights of local 
communities and work toward removal 
of the ‘yellow card’ assigned by the 
European Commission. 
This article is by Than Thi Hien  
(tthien@mcdvietnam.org), Vice Director, 
Centre for Marinelife Conservation and 
Community Development(MCD), Hanoi, 
Vietnam
Vietnam
FiSHERiES CO-MAnAgEMEnT 
Under the governance system 
called co-management, control over 
resources in a specified geographic 
area is shared between the state and 
community. It is part of the EAFM 
approach that integrates a balance of 
ecological wellbeing, human wellbeing 
and good governance into decision-
making processes. EAFM helps valuable 
resources to replenish by protecting 
ecosystem stability and maximising 
ecological and social benefits in fishing 
areas. For this reason, EAFM has 
become common practice throughout 
Southeast Asia. 
While fairly new in Vietnam, the 
national government supports the 
use of EAFM by agreeing to the Code 
of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries 
(CCRF) mooted by the Food and 
Agriculture Organization of the United 
Nations (FAO). Policies, legislation, and 
practical experience with EAFM remain 
limited in Vietnam, but the practice is 
gradually being implemented at the 
local level. 
Co-management and EAFM have 
been priorities for Vietnam’s Ministry 
of Agriculture and Rural Development 
(MARD) since the Fisheries Law 2017 
and Decree No. 26/2019/ND-CP 
came into effect on January 1, 2019, 
and April 25, 2019, respectively. The 
revised law formally defines the 
concept of co-management, while 
Article 10 of the decree provides 
guidelines for implementing the law 
and regulations for co-management 
national and international organizations are currently 
using co-management and an ecosystem-based approach 
to fisheries management (EAFM) to reduce the decline of 
coastal marine resources in vietnam.
40
SAMUDRA RepoRt No. 82
v i e t n a M
in the protection of fishery resources. 
The institutionalization of co-
management through the highest form 
of legal documentation is a significant 
achievement. 
The goals of Vietnam’s Fisheries Law 
2017 greatly align with the Voluntary 
Guidelines for Securing Sustainable 
Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of 
Food Security and Poverty Eradication 
(SSF Guidelines). These Guidelines 
are implemented in Vietnam by the 
Center for Marinelife Conservation 
and Community Development (MCD), 
with the support of the International 
Collective in Support of Fishworkers 
(ICSF). The SSF Guidelines are realized 
through improved policies, strategies 
and initiatives, such as those in Bai 
Dua, Nhon Ly, Quy Nhon Locally 
Managed Marine Area (LMMA).
Co-management-in-law, eafM in 
action
‘Enhancing resilience of small-scale 
fishing communities and marine 
ecosystems in Locally Managed Marine 
Areas (LMMA) in the South Central Coast 
of Vietnam’, is the tile of the project 
implemented by MCD with the support 
of Hong Kong-based ADM Capital 
Foundation. It aims to strengthen 
institutional capacity, practice and 
policy development in coastal areas in 
South Central Vietnam by improving 
local capacity and experience with 
EAFM practices. Active from early 
2017 through March 2020, this project 
intends to use EAFM to enhance the 
resilience of ecosystems and local 
communities, creating a model that 
could be used throughout the country. 
For instance, an EAFM plan for 2016-
2020 was developed for the Quy 
Nhon LMMA in Binh Dinh province in 
the southcentral part of the country. 
Managed by Nhon Ly, Nhon Hai, Nhon 
Chau and Ghenh Reng communities, 
LMMA is home to a rich diversity of 
endemic species, including the orange-
spotted grouper and the black sea 
cucumber, as well as 88 ha of coral 
reef, about 81 per cent of the coral 
reef in Binh Dinh’s coastal area. The 
plan looks to reduce illegal fishing, 
protect important habitats, restore 
economically valuable fish populations, 
improve livelihoods, engage local 
communities in management and 
prevent overfishing, among other 
objectives.
Bai Dua has an estimated coral 
reef cover of 4.5 ha that offers a high 
diversity of species. According to 
Nha Trang Oceanographic Institute’s 
survey in 2017, there are 207 types 
of aquatic species in Bai Dua. This 
number includes 11 species of seaweed, 
14 species of echinoderm, 69 species 
of fish and 87 species of hard coral. 
The area is a spawning ground for 
many species such as bigfin reef squid, 
lobsters and snails. 
Since 2016, there have been many 
tourism projects in Nhon Ly. It is 
estimated that 329,000 tourists visited 
the commune in 2018, a 6.2 per cent 
increase from 2017. The increase in 
tourism is creating jobs and improving 
the economic wellbeing of the residents; 
the total community revenue was 6.1 
billion dong (42.9 mn dong per capita) 
in 2018, which is 18 times more than the 
revenue of 340 mn dong in 2015. 
NHON LY COMMUNE
EXTRACT OF CADASTRAL MAP NO. TD01-2019
PROTECTION WORKS OF BAI DUA IN NHON LY COMMUNE - CENTRE FOR MARINE  
LIFE CONSERVATION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
LOCATION: BAI DUA - NHON LY COMMUNE, QUY NHON, BINH DINH
figure 1: Map of Bai Dua Beach in nhon ly commune, Quy nhon lMMa, Binh Dinh
The nhon ly Community Organization is now legally 
recognized and responsible for the management, 
protection, exploitation, and development of aquatic 
resources in this area...
41
FEBRUARY 2020
f i s h e r i e s  c o - M a n a G e M e n t
Bai Dua is a critical area for 
community livelihoods and is greatly 
impacted by human activities, 
especially unplanned and uncontrolled 
tourism development. Local people and 
commune authorities in Nhon Ly agree 
that Bai Dua needs to be co-managed 
and protected by the local community 
in order to safeguard valuable marine 
resources from depletion. This makes 
Bai Dua an ideal location to apply co-
management in accordance with the 
Fisheries Law 2017. 
Relevant activities in Southcentral 
Vietnam include annual community 
assessments of coral reef health 
following three training sessions 
conducted by MCD, the Fisheries Sub-
Department and local community 
groups, with support from Cu Lao 
Cham MPA, in the month of May 
during 2017-2019; an awareness-
raising workshop in Quy Nhon City 
on September 28, 2018, supported by 
ICSF; and a National Policy Workshop 
to develop a Co-Management Action 
Plan for the Protection of Fishery 
Resources and Reduction of Illegal 
Fishing on May 3, 2019, organized by 
the Directorate of Fisheries (D-Fish) 
and MCD. These activities increased 
local capacity in and awareness of 
marine ecosystem and coastal resource 
conservation in Quy Nhon LMMA 
through community participation and 
policy development.
Strong support from community 
members and local authorities 
inspired MCD, the Sub-Department of 
Fisheries and the Binh Dinh Fisheries 
Association to support Nhon Ly 
commune in applying for recognition 
and assignment of rights to manage 
and protect Bai Dua’s marine resources 
in 2019. Strong community support 
led to a high level of consensus on the 
management plan and operational 
regulations, including an agreement 
to contribute annually to a Community 
Fund to ensure the initiative’s financial 
sustainability.
The community is developing the 
‘Plan for protection and exploitation 
of aquatic resources and tourism in Bai 
Dua’ and the ‘Regulation on operation 
of community groups’. The Plan notes 
the necessity of co-management; 
priority to protect aquatic resources; 
responsibilities, rights and power of 
the community and local authorities; 
McD
small-scale fishing in nhon ly commune, Quy nhon city, Binh Dinh province. fishing is a common source of livelihood and income generation at 
the household level and in Binh Dinh, 80 per cent of the workforce are fishermen
42
SAMUDRA RepoRt No. 82
v i e t n a M
funding specifics; and zoning, patrol, 
supervision and coral reef protection 
teams. 
The Regulation on Operation of 
Nhon Ly Community Representative 
Board for Aquatic Resource Protection 
consists of seven chapters and 32 articles 
that outline principles, objectives, 
organisational structure, operations, 
responsibilities, enforcement and 
powers of community organizations 
in co-management in accordance with 
Article 10. 
Since the implementation of co-
management, the commune has been 
able to further protect its resources 
by detecting illegal activities. The 
commune organized eight Border 
Guard patrols in 2018 wherein seven 
cases of off-line activity and one case of 
illegal diving were discovered.
Progress
Nhon Ly was the first locality in 
Vietnam to apply the co-management 
model under the Fisheries Law 2017. 
It is now also one of the few coastal 
communes selected to implement the 
Fishing Village Cultural Architecture 
Conservation Planning for Sustainable 
Community Tourism Development by 
the People’s Committees of Binh Dinh 
Province and Quy Nhon City. The area 
has also been recommended to the 
Provincial Department of Tourism for a 
pilot community-based tourism model. 
Participants at the two workshops 
in South Central Vietnam provided 
many recommendations to continue 
this progress, further improving 
co-management efforts and the Co-
Management National Action Plan. 
Recommendations included increasing 
capacity and participation of community 
members; providing viable alternative 
livelihoods for fishermen; using science 
and technology to form comprehensive 
solutions; strengthening national and 
international collaboration; improving 
monitoring; creating specific, 
actionable objectives; using policy 
to encourage behaviour change; and 
developing localized action plans.
Managing the future
Despite the ongoing progress of the co-
management model in Bai Dua, such as 
the increase of hard coral cover from 35 
per cent in 2017 to 54 per cent in 2019. 
In Nhon Ly, fishing effort has decreased 
by 30 per cent since the households 
taking part in full-time fishing now 
have access to additional income from 
ecotourism. The area’s coral reefs have 
become a popular tourist attraction. 
However, rapid tourism development 
has also caused increased water 
pollution from sewage; tourist boats 
and cruises to coral reef areas need to 
be regulated. These challenges must be 
overcome in Bai Dua and throughout 
Vietnam through further improvement 
of policies, strategies, and initiatives; 
implementation of co-management and 
EAFM; continued active participation 
of community members in planning, 
managing, protecting and exploiting 
marine resources in co-managed areas;
On 4 February 2020, the Nhon Ly 
Community Organization has been 
given the right to co-manage fisheries 
resources, pursuant to the Fisheries Law 
2017. The Quy Nhon People’s Committee 
passed Decision No. 445/QD-UBND 
approving the Plan for Protection and 
Exploitation of Aquatic Resources 
in Bai Dua sea area. The Nhon Ly 
Community Organization is now legally 
recognized and responsible for the 
management, protection, exploitation, 
and development of aquatic resources 
in this area, including consulting 
on relevant projects, patrolling 
and inspecting fisheries activities, 
preventing and handling violations, 
and establishing a Community Fund. 
http://mcdvietnam.org/en/
Centre for Marinelife Conservation 
and Community Development (MCD)
https://igssf.icsf.net/images/
ICSF_FAo%20pRoJeCt1/VIe%20
002b_Vietnam_national%20policy%20
%20Worshop%20report%20may%20
31st%202019.docx
Workshop Report national 
Consultation on the Development 
of an Action Plan for the Co-
Management and Protection of 
Fishery Resources and Reduction of 
illegal Fishing, Hanoi, May 31st, 2019
for more


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