TNAG-1184-FCO40-1486-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-into-the--1982 — Page 24

CONFIDENTIAL #

Serial No: 4324

21st October 1982

Availability of Fishing Boats in Vietnam

Categories of Vessels

Fishing boats in Vietnam fall into three categories:

a.

State Enterprise vessels;

b. Co-operative Commune boats (Hop Tac Xa); and

C.

Privately owned boats.

State Enterprise Vessels

2.

Following the defeat of the South the communists confiscated all boats with engines in excess of 82 HP and set up state enterprise fishing communes. Only workers with reliable political background are permitted to work in those communes, which are under the direct control of the state.

State enterprise fishing vessels appear to have a secondary role as patrol craft and there are frequent reports of their firing on refugees attempting to escape. The vessels usually operate in pairs or groups and because of this, and the carefully monitored composition of their crews, their use as a means of escape is rare.

3.

Hop Tac Xa

4.

Following the communist takeover of the South co-operative communes were set up amongst the fishing community. At first all vessels were invited or coerced into joining but it was soon discovered that operating the smaller vessels in this way was unprofitable, and the majority were returned to private ownership. HTX vessels generally have engines in the range of 20 to 75 HP. Although they usually fishiin pairs, guarded by at least two militiamen, their use as escape vessels is not uncommon. the past escapees have successfully bribed militiamen to permit them to take over boats and there have been instances where boats have been stolen from their night-time anchorage, with or without the connivance of the militiamen whose duty it was to guard them.

5.

In

According to recent reports many HTX's in Central Vietnam have been disbanded. Fishermen believe that this is the result of a change of policy by the Vietnamese Government and that eventually all HTX vessels will be returned to private ownership. This change of policy is said to have been brought about by the difficulties experienced in attempting to exercise control over the disposal of the catch. Corruption among the militiamen is common, resulting in fishermen being permitted to retain a large proportion of their catch, either for their own consumption or for disposal on the black market. This has proved impossible to stamp out and HTX's have thus been found to be unprofitable.

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G.F. 326

CONFIDENTIAL #