The statement was made by Deputy Minister of Fisheries Nguyen Viet Thang at a conference held in Hanoi on December 11 to review the implementation of a Danish-funded project on supporting a marine preservation network in Vietnam.

Mr Thang said the fisheries sector has generated jobs for more than 4 million workers, helping improve their living conditions. However, the past years have witnessed a decline in the amount of marine creatures and a degradation of the marine environment as a result of overexploitation.

Starting in September 2003, the US$2-million project has been implemented over three years to minimise negative results of marine exploitation. It consists of two sub-projects, including a sub-project on supporting the central province of Quang Nam to transform Cu Lao Cham island into a sea preservation area.