Vietnam will guarantee food and fish care in Pinar del Río until 2026, but no longer
14ymedio, Havana, 14 November 2024 — In 2011, Vietnam invested money and advice in the La Juventud reservoir, located in the Pinar del Río municipality of Los Palacios, hoping that almost 15 years later the results would be satisfactory. Fishing in the reservoir has not only been below what was planned in the last decade, but this year – between breakdowns, little investment and the desertions of fishermen – has been catastrophic.
Now the staff working at La Juventud awaits the arrival of four Vietnamese technicians who will contribute to the “intensive tilapia rearing.” With the newcomers’ strategy, the fishermen hope to live up to their plans: 10 tons to finish 2024, 40 in 2025 and 50 in 2026.
The scientists from Vietnam aspire to genetically improve tilapia through sex reversal. If they manage to make most of the fry male by injecting hormones into the eggs, they will have more weight when they mature. The Vietnamese left Los Palacios during the pandemic, but, the reservoir’s director, Antonio González, says with relief, they are already starting to return.
In La Juventud there are 16,000 tilapia raised in cages; each one weighs two pounds
In La Juventud there are 16,000 tilapia raised in cages; each one weighs two pounds. Vietnam will guarantee fish food until 2026, but not beyond. The “challenge” of the Cuban State is to “market part of its production in foreign currency for the acquisition of feed.” Fishing, at the moment, is managed by the State-owned Pescarío, which catches, transports and refrigerates the fish. Everything, however, is limited to two municipalities – Los Palacios and Pinar del Río – and there are no guarantees that the product is exportable.
The fishermen of La Juventud are aware of the leaders’ plans but warn that real life is going elsewhere. Fishing “is not going at a good pace,” says Luis Quesada, with 20 years of experience fishing in the area. There are natural reasons and others that have to do with the lack of resources.
“The fish stick to the bottom,” Quesada explains, because of the bad weather on the surface. Winds, rain and the high level of the reservoir have forced the tench and tilapia to flee from the rough waves and go down to the bottom, a common behavior in the last months of the year due to the occurrence of cold fronts, but fueled by Hurricane Rafael.
On the other hand, the “Chernera”- as they call the boat used by the fishermen – was stopped for three months due to a break in the engine. Since January, when there was a good catch, “there have been very bad months,” the fisherman says.
The head of the fishing brigade, Julián Mesa, explains that they do not have appropriate nets either. Some fishing gear has been used for up to two decades, and the new materials that the State has provided them “do not have the ideal dimensions”: they are too small for such deep waters.
Mesa requested resources for a quarter-mile long net, but they “allowed” him to acquire one of only half that length
Mesa requested resources for a quarter-mile long net, but they “allowed” him to acquire one of only half that length. “With the high level of the reservoir we have to fish at the bottom behind the streams, which is where we get the small fish; if the nets were bigger, we would have a better catch,” he says.
However, his greatest concern, he explains, is the “discontent of his men.” “Two have already left the brigade this year because they are subject to payment systems for results, and when they do not meet the catch plan they receive only the minimum wage of 2,400 pesos, insufficient to cover the needs of their families,” he adds.
The members of the brigade are subjected to harsh working conditions. Standing from six in the morning, they finish at five in the afternoon, “but with the current gear and conditions of the reservoir the reward for the effort is minimal.”
González, for his part, is clear that “it will be very difficult to comply with the year’s plan” under these conditions. Fishing is only the first step of an industry that, in the province, does not work well. Little is processed and almost everything is restricted to the fish markets and the town’s canteens, where the people, he says, are always “waiting.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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