Develop Sustainable Livelihoods for Fishermen in the North Central Region of Vietnam - Case Study for Nghe An Province

Livelihoods and sustainable livelihoods play a very essential role in coastal fishing communities in Vietnam. In this paper, based on the sustainable livelihood model, we evaluate the current situation of coastal fishing livelihoods in the North central region of Vietnam with case study for Nghe An province and identifies favorable and unfavorable factors for accessing livelihood development resources by fishermen. For the research methods, secondary data from selected governmental agencies were gathered, and 200 fishermen were interviewed to collect primary data. The results of this research indicate that the income of fishermen is quite good but not stable due to their dependence on marine resources. Moreover, the types of livelihoods in the coastal zone of Nghe An province face certain difficulties with their specific occupational characteristics such as lack of capital, no stable job, reduced marine resources, weather dependence, lack of labor. Based on these, 3 groups of solutions and policies are proposed to promote sustainable livelihood development for coastal fishermen in Nghe An province, such as renewing fishing activities, promoting specialization and associating in maritime manufacturing and processing, as well as developing a variety of occupational groups associated with the exploitation of marine resources.