Fisherman Bui Thanh Ninh (Photo: Bien Phong newspaper)

Sau Ninh was born into a poor family in the coastal area of Binh Dinh. From a young age, he dreamed of going to sea. Ninh got a bank loan to build his first fishing boat and eventually became one of the first fishermen in Binh Dinh to own a fleet of off-shore fishing vessels. His 16 fishing boats mainly fish for tuna in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos. The Sau Ninh fleet catches nearly 2,000 tons of seafood per year, earning approximately 1.2 million USD.

The captains who work for Sau Ninh must contribute money to the operation of their boats. Ninh has set up a fund to support his crews.

“Many local fishermen have good physical strength but they don’t have enough capital to run a fishing boat. So, I help them develop their business,” he said.

Sau Ninh equips his fleet with advanced fishing equipment and organizes groups of fishing boats to support each other. He reminds his men that the East Sea is their home and they must be responsible for protecting the sea.

Fisherman Nguyen Van Phan who works for Sau Ninh’s fleet now owns 3 fishing boats.

“Mr. Sau Ninh helped me a lot. At first, I had nothing. Thanks to his support, my family is much better off,” he said.

Ms. Cao Thi Kim Thien, wife of fisherman Nguyen Sinh, said their life used to be difficult. Then, they borrowed money from Mr. Ninh to build a fishing boat. 20 years later, they own a new house and 2 fishing boats,

“We now have a stable income. Mr. Ninh helped us build this house,” said Ms. Thien. 

In addition to the third-class Labor Order, Sau Ninh has also received a certificate of merit from the Prime Minister for being an outstanding farmer.