Tam revealed this plan after a recent fact-finding tour of General Santos, the largest producer of sashimi-grade tuna in the Philippines.

He said Vietnam and the Philippines have signed a fishery cooperation agreement and set up a hotline to deal with arising issues related to fishing at sea.

He added that the Philippines wants to learn aquaculture and fish processing technology from Vietnam while Vietnam should study tuna fishing and processing technology from the country.

According to a recent report from the Department of Capture Fisheries and Resources Protection, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa provinces possess 2,826 tuna fishing vessels. However, 30% of them are unprofitable.

Currently, the Vietnam oceanic tuna sector is facing numerous difficulties. Tuna output from the East Sea fishing ground dipped 30% due to climate change. Tuna exports by June 15 dropped 8.1% against the same period last year.

At a July 21 meeting to review the pilot project on tuna fishing, purchasing, processing and selling, participants proposed that the Vietnam tuna industry should improve the quality of fishing and processing, invest in building specialized fish ports, identify potential products and expand markets.

International cooperation is also considered a key measure to spur the development of Vietnam’s tuna industry, they said.