SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE     JUNE 2024 | No. 41 Blue Social Protection Series: HIGHLIGHT Protecting People, Fish and Food Vietnam’s fisheries sector faces complex challenges, requiring a multifaceted Connecting social approach for resolution. Fishing capacity in coastal, inland, and offshore fisheries protection, labor market should be reduced to rebuild fish stocks. interventions and Additionally, measures are needed to address the vulnerabilities of workers, such fisheries management as income instability and health risks due to climate impacts and regulations. This in Viet Nam necessitates coordinated efforts across various government levels and ministries. Nga Thi Nguyen, Gianluigi Nico, Social assistance, social insurance, and active labor market programs can enable Thanh Hai Nguyen, and incentivize households to engage Annabelle Bladon, and in more sustainable practices and more Anna Ducros1 resilient livelihoods. Leveraging digitalization can improve data sharing and registration processes, thereby facilitating the extension of social protection to informal workers who present majority among fishery households. Furthermore, this integration of databases can enhance fisheries management through better-informed decision-making 1 The authors gratefully acknowledge valuable which is vital for sustainable development comments, insights, and contributions from Mizushi in Vietnam’s fisheries industry. Satoh, Yuko Okamura, Gunilla Tegelskaer, Federica Ricaldi, Diji Chandrasekharan Behr, and Aldo Morri. 1 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 1. Introduction also face high risk from climate change (Eckstein et al., 2019). Warming waters and increasingly Capture fisheries and aquaculture play a frequent and extreme weather events are crucial role in sustaining Viet Nam’s economy, damaging fisheries infrastructure and the livelihoods, and food security. Viet Nam is one productivity and distribution of fish stocks, with of the top producing countries and the third largest impacts on profits and income (Tran et al. 2022; exporter of aquatic products globally (FAO 2022). Nguyen 2022; Huynh et al 2021). As a key player While both capture fisheries and aquaculture in the global market, Viet Nam has been in the production have grown in recent decades, 57 spotlight because of issues related to illegal, percent of total production and 75 percent of unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and total revenues now come from aquaculture food safety. These issues must be addressed (World Bank, 2021). Viet Nam’s capture fisheries— for Viet Nam to boost its competitiveness and particularly marine fisheries, which account for 95 maintain the sustainability of its fisheries sector. percent of total catch from total inland and marine capture fisheries—are also an important source of The aim of this case study is to explore how employment and food (FAO 2022). It has been to leverage and adapt social protection and estimated that over 7 million people depend, in labor market policies and programs (SPL) some way, on livelihoods generated by the capture to support more sustainable fisheries in fisheries sector. This includes both those directly Viet Nam, while also reducing vulnerability employed along fisheries value chains or engaged and building climate resilience.  Part of the in subsistence fishing (direct dependents), as World Bank’s Social Protection and Jobs (SPJ) well as their household dependents (indirect and Environmental Global Practice (ENR) group dependents). The majority of them depend on work, with inputs provided by country team, marine small-scale fisheries and their value chains this brief draws on a quantitative analysis of (Virdin et al. 2023). nationally representative data from two official government surveys to build a socioeconomic However, Viet Nam’s fish stocks are in and demographic profile of Viet Nam’s fisheries decline, threatening the livelihoods of sector and assess the relative social and economic communities who depend on them. Fish stock vulnerability of households and workers involved in decline is primarily due to limited implementation the fisheries sector. This analysis provides the basis of both small-scale inshore, as well as large-​ for recommendations on how to strengthen SPL scale offshore, fishery management, leading to better meet the needs of people who depend to substantial increase in fishing (World Bank, on fisheries, and to support effective fisheries forthcoming; FAO 2019). Viet Nam’s fisheries management in Viet Nam. 2 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 The structure of the brief is as follows: the Viet Nam’s marine economy is a crucial driver of remainder of this introduction provides context economic growth and livelihoods, contributing on Viet Nam’s fisheries sector and its SPL system, significantly to national GDP. Marine and policies and programs. Section 3 describes the coastal economic activities contribute for about 30 data and methods used for this study. Section 4 percent of the national GDP (World Bank. 2019). presents main findings. Section 5 identifies the Key sectors encompass aquaculture and capture main opportunities for SPL to support a more fisheries, accounting for 3.4 percent of the national sustainable and resilient fisheries sector. Finally, GDP. Coastal tourism, particularly, has contributed Section 6 outlines key takeaways and lessons 7 percent to national GDP as of 2017. Furthermore, learned from the case study, and offers suggested maritime logistics plays a critical role in trade and next steps based on this research. socio-economic development, with 25 percent of exports and 86 percent of imports transported by sea (Anil & Hanh Duong, forthcoming). 2. Country context 2.1. Viet Nam’s economy Viet Nam’s capture fisheries 2.2.  and aquaculture sector Viet Nam’s economic growth has benefited from commodity exports, relying on its Viet Nam’s Directorate of Fisheries (D-Fish), natural assets (land, fish, forests, and water) under the Ministry of Agriculture and and optimizing use of its physical assets. The Rural Development (MARD), is the main country has transitioned relatively fast from a low government body responsible for to a lower middle-income economy. For Viet Nam, fisheries and aquaculture management average GDP growth is forecasted to decline and development, with decentralization from 5.4 percent between 2010 to 2018 to about at provincial, district and communal levels. 4  percent from 2030 to 2040 without efficiency While MARD is responsible for managing fisheries gains. Going forward, however, a change in in Viet Nam’s offshore waters, Provincial People’s strategy will likely be needed for Viet Nam to Committees are responsible for managing inshore2 catch up with more advanced economies through and inland water in their respective provinces, in greater accumulation and efficient utilization of all accordance with national regulations.3 At  lower forms of capital, including natural capital. 2 Decree No. 33/2010/ND-CP dated March 31, 2010 on the management of fishing activities in sea areas by Vietnamese organizations and individuals. 3 Inshore or near shore waters are within 6 nautical miles of Viet Nam’s coastline (Article 42, Decree 26 issued on March 8, 2019 guiding the implementation of the Fisheries Law 2019). 3 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 levels, district  and commune governments Viet Nam’s current legal and policy framework collaborate with local Fisheries Associations provides for a transition to more sustainable and co-management organizations to manage fisheries, including by limiting fishing resources. Industry associations such as the Viet pressure. The Law on Fisheries No. 18/2017/ Nam Fisheries Society (VINAFIS) and the Viet Nam QH14, revised in 2019, includes measures such Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers as requirements for commercial fishing licenses (VASEP) also contribute by providing sectoral and quotas that set Total Allowable Catch limits finance, training, knowledge, and supporting fishers on some stocks,4 closed seasons in spawning and fish workers to engage with government. and breeding grounds, co-management, and strengthened monitoring and surveillance. Under Until recently, Viet Nam’s fisheries’ policies Viet Nam’s new strategy and vision for the growth were largely focused on increasing of the sector,5 a new policy has been adopted for production,  exports, and national economic 2023-2030 to restructure the capture fisheries development, which has led to the increase sector, reorienting unsustainable fishing operations in fishing capacity. Insufficient regulation of towards other more sustainable activities open access inshore fisheries allowed fishing (Box 2.1). However, effective implementation and pressure to rise well beyond sustainable levels enforcement of regulations—including measures (Pomeroy et al. 2009), while subsidies and other to reduce overcapacity—have so far been limited policies aiming to shift effort away from inshore by inadequate consideration of the socioeconomic waters and expand the offshore fleet drove further situations of fishing communities (Hanh 2021). To overcapacity (Duy et al. 2015; Harper  & Sumaila effectively implement the restructuring requires 2019). Limited monitoring, control, and surveillance sufficient support for fisheries workers and their have also fueled Viet Nam’s struggles with illegal, households to maintain their income and food unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, security. exacerbating the challenge of managing fisheries for sustainability and putting export markets at risk (World Bank 2021). 4 In practice, quotas are implemented only for tuna and anchovies, because other species are lacking the data required (Source: https://www.rimf.org.vn/bantin/chitiet/cap-han-ngach-khai-thac-trong-quan-ly-nghe-ca-ben-vung-tai​-viet-nam) 5 Strategy for the Growth of Viet Nam’s Fisheries to 2030, with a Vision to 2045, Decision No. 339/QD-TTg dated March 11, 2021 4 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 BOX 2.1: THE SCHEME FOR ‘TRANSFORMING SOME FISHERIES AFFECTING RESOURCES AND ECOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT’6 This program, approved in March 2023, requires the decommissioning of about 2,000 inshore fishing vessels and 1,000 offshore fishing vessels by 2025. Affected workers will be supported to convert their livelihoods to aquaculture, aquaculture services, recreational fisheries, ecotourism, and conservation. Furthermore, approximately 1,000 offshore fishing vessels known to harm resources, the environment, or ecosystems—specifically, those using drag nets and gillnets for tuna—will be reoriented toward more sustainable fisheries activities, such as traps, nets, hooks, and post-harvest services. Additional vessels will be converted between 2026 and 2030. The program aims to ensure that all fishers who change jobs have stable employment and a guaranteed income, providoing vocational training to a total of 120,000 fishers whose vessels are converted. Viet Nam’s social protection 2.3.  Viet Nam’s social assistance7 has broadened and labor policies and and provided more protection in the last programs 15 years, but spending and benefits are low relative to global income peer countries8 Since the 1990s, Viet Nam’s SPL system (World Bank 2019). In 2021, the Government of has evolved and expanded, helping to Viet Nam (GoV) spent around 0.86 percent of GDP substantially reduce poverty, but programs are on social assistance programs, excluding health fragmented and coverage remains insufficient. insurance subsidies, which covered 3.5 percent Three-quarters of households in the bottom quintile of the population (MOLISA 2022). Expansion has of the income distribution do not receive any SPL been ad hoc, driven largely by a broadening of benefits and social insurance coverage remains very coverage of monthly social allowances for the limited, contributing to a large “missing middle” elderly, people with disabilities, and orphaned (World Bank 2019). Although improvements are children in poor or near-poor households. Limited underway (Box 2.2), Viet Nam’s social protection (SP) emergency social assistance—including cash delivery system is weak and fragmented compared transfers, food, and support for job creation— to those of other middle-income countries, making is also provided to all people facing extreme it difficult for programs to adapt in response to circumstances due to natural disasters, epidemics, shocks (World Bank 2019). fires, and accidents. 6 Decision 208/QD-TTg of 2023. https://tongcucthuysan.gov.vn/en-us/News/-Tin-v%E1%BA%AFn/doc-tin/019450​ /2023-08-02/chuyen-doi-mot-so-nghe-khai-thac-hai-san-anh-huong-den-nguon-loi-va-moi-truong 7 Decree 20/2021/ND-CP  8 The standard social assistance level applied from July 1, 2021 is VND 360,000/month. 5 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 Furthermore, social assistance is poorly work in Viet Nam, contribution coverage in VSS integrated with active labor market programs is less than 40 percent of the labor force in 2022; (ALMPs) and broader economic inclusion MOLISA, 2023). The Voluntary Social Insurance efforts. There are several long-term National Fund (VSIF), introduced in 2008 for informal Target Programs (NTPs) for poverty reduction workers, is not affordable or attractive enough to and rural development that work in parallel with incentivize participation. Despite the introduction the social assistance system. These programs are of a modest subsidized contribution policy in typically area-based and provide a range of types 2018,10 participation has not exceeded 3 percent of support, including cash and in-kind transfers of the labor force (MOLISA, 2023). In contrast, and livelihood support including credit, vocational, health insurance coverage has increased steadily to and education training (VET), and job search reach more than 90 percent of the population by assistance. The majority of NTP funds are spent on 2021. This was achieved by subsidizing premiums local infrastructure construction in rural areas, with in whole (for the poor) or in part (for the near-poor) only 9 percent going to livelihood interventions from the government budget. and 1 percent to VET during 2016-2020 (World Bank, 2021). Creation of jobs for youth, part of the The unemployment insurance scheme covers livelihood support components of NTPs, is often only formal workers. The existing system of implemented by the Youth Association. However, labor regulation and protection primarily serves results stemming from these programs remains formal contracted workers, supplying them with limited due to lack of incentives to attract youth unemployment insurance and priority access to participation. employment services when they are unemployed. However, since the majority of Viet Nam’s labor Viet Nam’s social insurance system includes force, particularly fishery workers, is informal, most a compulsory and voluntary social insurance workers are excluded from these programs. Lack of scheme, but coverage remains low. The protection makes them more vulnerable to shocks. compulsory contributory social insurance scheme, implemented by Viet Nam Social Security (VSS), is Apart from livelihood support under the a defined benefit scheme provided for those with NTPs, the GoV has introduced several SPL an employment contract of at least one month’s programs for fisheries and capture fisheries duration.9 But given the prevalence of informal to increase productive capacity and efficiency, 9 This offers benefits for retirement, survivors, sickness and maternity, labor accident or occupational disease, and unemployment. 10 The current assistance rates are equivalent to 30% of monthly social insurance premiums for the poor, 25% for the near poor, and 10% to others (Article 14, Decree 134/2015/ND-CP), which is small compared to global peers. 6 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 while helping Vietnamese harmed by natural government bodies to develop VET programs for disasters. Under the fisheries development fishers, prioritizing those changing professions. policy,11 the GoV offers loans to upgrade vessels Currently, lack of clarity persists around what form and construct new ones, improve other equipment these programs will take (Box 2.1). for offshore fisheries, train crew, pay for insurance premiums. The policy also offers a range of tax The SP system suffers from fragmentation exemptions. This policy is not encouraged as as each program reaches beneficiaries it may contribute to the decline of fish stocks. independently. This is especially noticeable with Fisheries households hit with natural disasters are the system’s delivery network, which must be eligible for one-time support (cash or in kind), able to distribute both SP and ALMPs. Currently, depending on production scale and affected each pillar has its own processes for delivering areas.12 However, the implementation of this policy benefits. This fragmentation is exacerbated by remains limited due to challenges in providing remaining manual delivery systems, relying on initial registration on concentrated livestock weak digital systems specific to given ministries or farming and quarantine certification. As part of the programs. This leaves the system cumbersome and new scheme to transform unsustainable fishing, inconvenient to clients who need to receive services, MARD is mandated to work with the Ministry of and inefficient for the ministries overseeing these Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, and other processes. BOX 2.2: TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED SOCIAL PROTECTION INFORMATION SYSTEM The recent digital transformation agenda in Viet Nam has enabled development of an integrated SP information system, which is expected to improve targeting and validation of eligibility. The national population database had achieved near universal coverage with around 90 percent of Vietnamese eligible for a national ID card. The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs is in the process of digitalizing its databases, starting with the social assistance database, and gradually linking it to the national population database for verification. Once these databases are clean and up to date, they will link to databases under other ministries, such as the social insurance, health database, and fisheries databases for validating eligibility. 11 Decree 67/2014/ND-CP 12 Decree 02/2017/ND-CP 7 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 The GoV has recently considered introducing Labor Force Survey (LFS). Both are official agriculture insurance to protect farmers government surveys designed to collect nationally against  crop losses due to natural disasters. representative data based on a sample of randomly Agricultural Index Insurance13 has been piloted selected households. For this brief, the VHLSS serves through public-private partnerships (PPP) for rice, as a primary source of data for assessing the living livestock, and aquaculture smallholders. Under this standards of households engaged in either fisheries pilot, the government provides premium subsidies or aquaculture (see definitions section 3.2). The LFS between 20 percent and 90 percent depending on serves as a complementary source, enabling us to level of poverty (GIZ 2022). However, there is no profile labor market vulnerability of workers within equivalent type of livelihood insurance for capture the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. The VHLSS is fisheries workers. a multitopic household survey designed to evaluate and monitor living standards, whereas the LFS is 3. Data and method primarily designed to gather individual-level data to provide a broad understanding of key labor market 3.1. Data sources outcomes. Together, indicators from these surveys provide a comprehensive profile of socioeconomic Findings presented in this analysis draw upon vulnerability within Viet Nam’s fisheries sector data obtained from two sources from 2020: relative to the agriculture sector and other sectors. the Viet Nam Household Living Standard Table 3.1 displays the distribution of households and Survey (VHLSS) survey and the Viet Nam people across the three main economic sectors. TABLE 3.1. DISTRIBUTION OF HOUSEHOLDS AND PEOPLE ACROSS THE THREE MAIN ECONOMIC SECTORS VHLSS 2020 LFS 2020 Sector Number of % over total Sector Number of people % over total households Fishing and 713,550 2.67%  Fisheries and 1,765,797 3.3% aquaculture aquaculture Agriculture 5,085,325 19.05% Agriculture 15,938,919 29.9% Others 20,900,000 78.28% Others 35,621,208 66.8% Total 26,698,875 100%  Total 53,325,924 100%  Source: Viet Nam household living standard survey and labor force survey, GSO 13 Index-based insurance provides pre-specified payouts related to an index of indicators that are closely correlated to production losses, such as drought and flood. 8 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 3.2. Defining fisheries and those employed in: (i) marine capture fishing (ISIC aquaculture households code 0311), (ii) inland capture fishing (ISIC code and employment 0312), (iii) marine aquaculture (ISIC code 0321), (iv) inland aquaculture (ISIC code 0322), and (v) According to VHLSS 2020 data, fishing and fish processing. The ISIC classification comprises aquaculture households are those with at codes for food trading activities (codes 4632, 4722, least one member engaged in marine or 4781), but it lacks the distinction between trading inland capture fishing or farming aquaculture in fish and non-fish food. To precisely pinpoint activities within the past 12 months, and activities exclusively related to fish trading, we where the majority of total household perform cross-tabulations with the codes that income, whether wages or profit, is derived capture fish-related occupations (that is, the from these two sectors. Due to limitations in the tasks performed by individuals within fisheries collected data, this definition excludes households and aquaculture), as outlined in the International engaged in other activities related to fishing Standard Classification of Occupations14 (codes and aquaculture, such as fish processing, sale 6221, 6222, 6223, and 9206). Employment in (post-harvest activities), and other fishery services. fish trading is likely to be underestimated for at least two reasons. First, the LFS does not allow Based on LFS 2020 data, individuals accurate capture of all indirect jobs created in employed in fisheries and aquaculture the trade segment of fisheries, such as those sectors are those who worked for at least in transportation, merchants, and providers one hour mainly for pay or profit in market- of associated services. Secondly, considering oriented activities within the marine or Vietnam is the third-largest exporter of aquatic inland fisheries or aquaculture sectors. products globally (FAO 2022), the number of jobs The LFS categorizes workers in fisheries and created from the export of aquatic products is aquaculture according to the International likely to be much larger than that estimated from Standard Classification of Economic Activities the LFS (see Table 3.2). Table 3.2 represents the (ISIC), enabling the classification of employed number and the shares of households and people individuals based on their specific economic employed in fisheries and aquaculture using the activities. Fisheries and aquaculture workers are VHLSS 2020 and LFS 2020. 14 https://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/stat/isco/ 9 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 TABLE 3.2: NUMBER AND SHARE OF HOUSEHOLDS IN FISHING AND AQUACULTURE, AND NUMBER AND SHARE OF WORKERS ACROSS FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SECTORS. VHLSS 2020 LFS 2020 Households in fishing and aquaculture People employed in fisheries and aquaculture Sector Number of % over total Sector Number of people % over total households households employment Fishing 713,550 2.67% Marine capture fishing 417,606 0.8% Aquaculture Inland capture fishing 199,466 0.4%   Marine aquaculture 85,747.30 0.2%   Inland aquaculture 718,845 1.3%   Fish processing 298,240 0.6%   Building of ships and 44,040.30 0.1% floating structures       Fish trading 1,852.75 0.0% Source: Viet Nam household living standard survey and labor force survey, GSO 4. Main findings with a relative decline in the share of value-added in agriculture, forestry, and fishing, dropping Demographic profile of 4.1.  from 29.3 percent in 1991 to 13 percent in fishing and aquaculture 2022 (the latest available year from World Bank households World Development Indicators). Nevertheless, the absolute value of value-added from the sector Over the last three decades, the Vietnamese has increased significantly, rising from constant labor market has transformed. The share US$14,287 million in 1991 to US$42.698 million of employment in agriculture, including fishing in 2022. Despite this transformation, agriculture, and forestry has decreased by approximately forestry, and fisheries continue to be significant 41 percentage points from 75 percent in 1991 employment providers, with one-third of the total to 34  percent in 2022 (the latest available ILO workforce employed in the sector. data).15 This shift in employment sectors aligns 15 https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/ 10 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 FIGURE 4.1: SECTORAL DISTRIBUTION OF EMPLOYMENT AND VALUE ADDED 100 80 % of total employment 60 40 20 0 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 100 80 % of total value added 60 40 20 0 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 Agriculture, forestry, and fishing Manufacturing Services Source: ILOSTAT on sectoral distribution of employment and value added, World Bank WDI for sectoral distribution of GDP About 2.7 percent of households surveyed in last two decades, and are increasingly susceptible Viet Nam engage in fishing and aquaculture. to climate change threats, such as sea-level rise, The total portion of households engaged in the extreme weather events, floods, and droughts fisheries sector is likely higher, however, given (Tran et al. 2022; World Bank 2023). that other value chain activities also provide employment (see Section 4.2). The majority of While in some ways more vulnerable, fishing and aquaculture households live in the Viet Nam’s fishing and aquaculture households Mekong Delta (50%) and the North Central and share some demographic characteristics with Central Coast (35%), where access to services, agriculture households. Fishing and aquaculture infrastructure and employment opportunities is households—like those in the agriculture sector— low and climate risk is high. These regions have are more commonly headed by males (84 percent of warmed more than other parts of Viet Nam in the fishing and aquaculture households and 80 percent 11 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 in agriculture households). The average age of fishing Labor market profile of the 4.2.  and aquaculture household heads (51) is similar to fisheries and aquaculture that of other households (50), and slightly lower than sector those in the agriculture sector (54). However, fishing and aquaculture households also tend to be slightly According to the 2020 LFS, the fisheries and larger than other households (four people compared aquaculture sectors in Viet Nam employ more to 3.7), which may present challenges in meeting than 1.76 million workers throughout the value basic needs for a larger number of individuals—such chain. When we take into account those who hold as access to clean water, sanitation and healthcare— secondary jobs within the fisheries and aquaculture and may affect household expenditure patterns. The sector, the total employment figure increases to majority (95%) of Viet Nam’s fishing and aquaculture nearly 2 million people. Nevertheless, the share of household heads are of Kinh ethnicity, whereas employment in fisheries and aquaculture (3.3%) in agriculture household heads are much more likely to total employment is notably lower than that in crop, be of minority ethnicity (68% are Kinh). This is likely livestock, forestry, and other agriculture support due to the concentration of Kinh population around activities, which provide employment to almost coastal regions. one-third of the total employed population—about 15.9 million people or 29.9 percent. Fishing and aquaculture household heads Within the fisheries and aquaculture sector, also tend to have lower education than those inland aquaculture stands out as the primary in other sectors, making it harder for them source of employment. Inland aquaculture to diversify their livelihoods. Approximately accounts for 1.3 percent of the country’s 30  percent of fishing and aquaculture household workforce, followed by marine capture fishing at heads have no formal education, compared to 0.8 percent of the workforce, and fish processing about 20 percent in agriculture, and 12 percent at 0.6 percent. Inland capture fishing and marine in the other sectors. The share of fishing and aquaculture contribute only a small fraction to the aquaculture household heads with vocational country’s total employment at 0.4 percent and qualifications is lowest (less than 3%), while this 0.2 percent, respectively. figure for agriculture is 7 percent. and other sectors 15 percent. This reflects the fact that skills and Women and youth are frequently knowledge related to fishing and aquaculture tend underrepresented in overall fisheries and to be shared within communities and passed down aquaculture, but the representation of through generations. However, these low education women increases significantly for specific levels also limit their capacity to adapt and diversify subsectors. Women make up less than one-third livelihoods, and participate in decision-making. (29.6%) of the total workforce in fisheries and 12 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 aquaculture, but their representation varies across job in fisheries or aquaculture to supplement their subsectors: they are notably underrepresented in livelihoods. Inland aquaculture attracts the majority marine capture fishing at just 11 percent, but their of agricultural workers with secondary jobs participation rises to 24 percent in inland capture (1.8 percent). Although the number of agricultural fishing and marine aquaculture, reaching as high workers holding a second job in fisheries or as 28 percent in inland aquaculture. On the other aquaculture is relatively low, the contribution of hand, women are highly represented in the fish fisheries and aquaculture to poverty prevention processing sub-sector where they account for is evident as they provide additional income 68 percent of the total workforce. Similarly, young for agricultural households, offering a potential people are also underrepresented in fisheries pathway out of poverty. According to LFS data, and aquaculture, but their participation in the agricultural workers with a secondary job in sector is higher than in agriculture; they represent fisheries or aquaculture earn an hourly income 19.9 percent of total employment in fisheries about 33 percent higher than counterparts without and aquaculture, in contrast to 17.4 percent in a second job in fisheries or aquaculture. agriculture. Nearly two-thirds (62.7%) of all workers in More than half, 53.9 percent, of the total the fisheries and aquaculture sector hold a fisheries and aquaculture workforce performs self-employment job. This includes employers low-skilled jobs, but this share/figure is much (2.9%), own-account workers (43.5%), and higher in agriculture where 78.6 percent of the contributing family workers (16.2%). The remaining total workforce is unskilled. The prevalence of 37.3 percent hold a paid employment job in the low-skilled workers within fisheries and aquaculture sectors (employees). Notably, a significant portion is primarily due to high concentration of low-skilled of the fisheries and aquaculture workforces falls workers in marine and inland aquaculture (65.3% into the category of contributing family workers and 63.6%). In contrast, low-skilled workers are and own-account workers, which together account less concentrated in the marine capture fishing for 59.7 percent of the workforce in the sectors. sectors (48.9%), with the lowest concentration in These workers face elevated economic risk and fish processing (38.2%). wield less authority among all employment status groups (employers, and employees), rendering them Fisheries and aquaculture also serve as critical particularly susceptible to work deficits. Nevertheless, safety nets for some agricultural workers. it’s important to highlight that the combined share Of the 3.8 million agricultural workers holding a of own-account and contributing family workers in second job outside of agriculture, approximately the fisheries and aquaculture sector (59.7%) is lower 2.8 percent (or 108,000 workers) hold a second compared to agriculture (90.3% in agriculture). 13 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 Of the 1.1 million self-employed workers in informal employees is lower than in agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, approximately where nine of every ten employees hold informal 95 percent operate informally through jobs. Within the fisheries and aquaculture sector, unregistered small businesses.16 Although the the highest incidence of employees without percentage of informal, self-employed workers in social insurance is found in marine capture fishing fisheries and aquaculture is 4 percentage points (99%), while in the marine aquaculture sector, lower than in agriculture (99%), it still exceeds the this figure is approximately 10 percentage points national average (89%) by 6 percentage points. The lower. In upstream and downstream fisheries and prevalence of self-employed workers in the informal aquaculture, the share of informal employees sector varies across subsectors, with the highest decreases significantly. proportion in inland aquaculture, followed by marine aquaculture, and inland capture fishing. Conversely, Social insurance covers primarily employees the lowest incidence of self-employed workers is in while nearly all self-employed workers marine capture fishing (79%), and this percentage are lacking social insurance coverage. Only decreases further for downstream activities in the 0.3  percent of self-employed workers have social fisheries and aquaculture value chain. insurance, with 0.2 percent under compulsory social insurance and 0.1 percent under voluntary social Nearly three-fourths (74.7%) of paid workers insurance. In contrast, for all employees in fisheries in the fisheries and aquaculture sector work and aquaculture, 21.5 percent have compulsory informally, meaning they lack basic social social insurance and an additional 3.8 percent are security such as social insurance. The share of covered by voluntary social insurance (Table 5.1). TABLE 5.1: COVERAGE OF SOCIAL INSURANCE IN THE FISHERIES, AGRICULTURE AND NON-AGRICULTURE SECTORS % of self-employed workers % of employees Without With With Without With With compulsory Voluntary compulsory Voluntary social ins. social ins. social ins. social ins. Agriculture 99.8% 0.0% 0.1% 89.9% 9.8% 0.3% Fisheries and aquaculture 99.7% 0.2% 0.1% 74.7% 21.5% 3.8% Other activities 97.8% 1.6% 0.6% 42.4% 55.6% 2.0% Total 99.0% 0.7% 0.3% 45.9% 52.2% 1.9% Source: authors’ calculation based on the 2020 LFS 16 Informal self-employed workers definition according to ILO’s informal sector definition. Employment in the informal sector is estimated by accounting for all self-employed workers who run an unregistered, small-scale enterprise. 14 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 Income, poverty, and 4.3.  stand out with the highest hourly incomes vulnerability in the (US$6 and US$ 5.2, respectively). This fisheries sector translates to monthly incomes of US$896 and US$881, respectively, 1.9  times higher than the Monthly income tends to be higher for average income in agriculture of US$468. It is households in fishing and aquaculture than worth noting that in the marine fishing sector, in agriculture, but lower than for households the higher monthly income partly reflects longer in other sectors. According to VHLSS 2020, weekly working hours compared to agriculture mean, per capita income per month for fishing and (Table A2). aquaculture households was US$ 174, compared to US$ 120 in agriculture and US$ 200 in the rest The marine capture fishing sector has the of the economy.17 This findings is in line with the most pronounced gender income gap, with 2020 LFS data: on average, workers in fisheries men earning 41 percent more per month and aquaculture earn nearly 70 percent more per than women. This income disparity arises from month than their counterparts in agriculture at a combination of factors: Firstly, men earn a US$794 compared to US$468. This higher monthly 31  percent higher hourly income compared to income in fisheries and aquaculture is driven by women; secondly, they also work 27 percent two main factors: higher remuneration per hour more hours per week compared to women. The worked (39.7% higher than in agriculture) and fish processing sector exhibits the smallest gender longer weekly working hours (27% more than in income gap, with women earning 17 percent less agriculture). Fishing and aquaculture households’ than men per month. This difference in income is per capita incomes also tend to concentrate at a solely due to the hourly wage gap, as both women higher level than agriculture households and at and men in the sector work the same number of a lower level than non-agriculture households hours per week (Table A2). (Figure A. 1). These patterns are likely related to the fact that 62 percent of household heads in fishing Data from the 2018 and 2020 LFS indicates that and aquaculture engage in relatively low-skilled average employment income has declined jobs, compared to 75 percent in agriculture, in both the aquaculture and capture fishing 26 percent outside of agriculture. sectors over the past two years. The decrease, which appears more pronounced in the aquaculture Within fisheries and aquaculture, marine sector (-7.2%) compared to the capture fishing aquaculture and marine capture fishing sector (-4.9%), is likely attributable to the outbreak 17 VND 4 mln ≈ int USD 530.43, VND 2.8mln ≈ int USD 371.3, VND 4.8 mln ≈int USD 636.52 15 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 of the COVID-19 pandemic: in March 2020, the and own-account workers but excluding GoV banned the entry of foreign tourists into the contributing family workers), around 13.2 country, and the July 2020 large-scale lockdown percent (over 103,000) earn a low income in Danang likely reduced demand for fish products in the form of profit, defined as income falling and related incomes. below two-thirds of the median national income. Notably, the share of self-employed workers with Out of the 623,000 wage employees in low income in fisheries and aquaculture (13.2%) fisheries and aquaculture, over 145,000, or is considerably lower than in agriculture (43.9%) 23.3%, are earning low wages. Employees with (Table in Annex 3). low earning are defined as those whose hourly earnings from fisheries and aquaculture is less than In summary, fishing and aquaculture exhibit two-thirds of the median national hourly earnings. higher income and lower working poverty Notably, the share of employees with low wages rates compared to agriculture. Sector-specific in fisheries and aquaculture (23.3%) is lower than cumulative distribution functions (CDFs18) of daily that in agriculture (39.6%). employment incomes reveal that both capture fishing and aquaculture (orange and gray lines in However, the share of employees with Figure 4.2) consistently have income distributions low wages varies considerably within the to the right of those for agricultural workers (the fisheries and aquaculture sub-sectors. Inland blue line). This first-order stochastic dominance19 capture fishing and inland aquaculture shows indicates that the share of fishing and aquaculture the highest share of employees with low wages, workers earning less than a specific income level respectively 35.9% and 33.1%, compared to is consistently lower than that of agricultural marine capture fishing and marine aquaculture, workers. For example, considering a poverty line of which have relatively lower shares of employees US$3.65—aligned with the international poverty with low wages (Table in Annex 3). line for lower-middle-income countries like Viet Nam—only 1.3 percent and 2.6 percent of capture Out of the over 784,000 individuals fishing and aquaculture workers fall below this holding self-employed jobs in fisheries threshold, respectively, compared to 11.1 percent and aquaculture (including employers of agricultural workers. 18 The cumulative distribution functions of income shows the proportion of people in their respective sectors who earn less than or equal to a certain income level. 19 This first-order stochastic dominance indicates that the proportion of fishing and aquaculture workers earning less than any specific chosen income level is consistently lower than that of agricultural workers. In simpler terms, regardless of the income level chosen for comparison, fishing and aquaculture consistently offer always higher incomes than agriculture. 16 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 FIGURE 4.2: CUMULATIVE DISTRIBUTION Problems related to low incomes, health, and FUNCTION OF DAILY EMPLOYMENT INCOME IN CAPTURE FISHING, AQUACULTURE AND natural disasters represent the most common AGRICULTURE reasons fishing and aquaculture households report for stagnation or decline in living 1.0 standards. Half of fishing and aquaculture Cumulative distribution function Int. poverty line 0.8 households reported that low income decreases 0.6 their standard of living. They highlighted the 0.4 seasonal and unpredictable nature of income, particularly from fishing, which can result in periods 0.2 of economic hardship. More than 20 percent of 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 household reported sickness or death of household Daily income in int. USD members as a problem. This can be linked to Harvesting fishing Aquaculture Crop and livestock limited access to social protection mechanisms, Source: author’s calculation based on the 2020 LFS such as health insurance or life insurance. Another 10 percent reported natural disasters such as Poverty rate among fishing and aquaculture droughts, floods, and pests to be problems. sectors remains low, but their high income- Natural disasters can have devastating effects on dependence indicates low adaptive fishing and aquaculture livelihoods through events capacity. Poverty rates have been decreasing such as harvest loss, damage to fishing equipment, across all sectors since 2016, and by 2020, 3.3 and disruption to fishing activities. percent of fishing and aquaculture households were living in poverty, compared to 11.0 percent of agriculture households and 2.5 percent of 4.4. Access to assets and services non-agriculture households. The majority (60%) of total income from fishing and aquaculture Fishing and aquaculture households, like households comes from fishing and aquaculture agriculture households, are less likely to activities, indicating a high reliance on these have savings at a bank than those in other sectors to generate income, and therefore sectors. Only 8 percent of fishing and aquaculture limited capacity to adapt to economic shocks households, and 9 percent of agriculture and stresses (Figure Annex 2). households, had savings in 2020, compared to 18 percent of other households. This difficulty to save could be related to several factors, such as 17 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 lack of financial literacy or limited access to formal assistance policy.20 However, around 10 percent financial institutions, as well variability in flows of of the total loan amount fishing and aquaculture incomes among fishing households. As expected, households take comes from informal sources, such poor households in any sector have low savings, but as family members, friends, or local moneylenders, saving for fishing and aquaculture households are demonstrating that barriers still exist to their particularly low, further limiting their coping options financial inclusion. in times of shock. Fishing and aquaculture households have Fishing and aquaculture households—again, lower ownership of most durable assets like agriculture households—are also more than non-agriculture households, but higher likely to use loans for production than those ownership than agriculture households. in other sectors. About 60 percent of fishing and The 2020 VHLSS releases that 97 percent of fishing aquaculture households took loans for production, and aquaculture households owned mobile phones, compared to 40 percent of non-agriculture which were the most common durable assets owned households (Figure Annex 4). Fishing, aquaculture, by all household groups. Owning a mobile phone and agriculture activities often require upfront empowers fishing and aquaculture households by investment in equipment, seeds or other inputs. increasing access to markets, providing weather and Access to loans can provide these households fishing information, and supporting safety through with working capital to fund operations until they emergency communication. While households generate income from their activities. In addition, engaged in fishing and aquaculture exhibit the fishing, aquaculture, and agriculture are often highest ownership rates of vessels, these rates remain subject to seasonal variations, market fluctuations, limited, with just 10.7 percent possessing motorized and environmental conditions, compelling vessels and 4.4 percent owning non-motorized households in these sectors to seek loans to ones. For fishing households in particular, this is rebuild and sustain their production. Fishing and likely to limit access to resources and reduce income- aquaculture households and agriculture households generating opportunities, making them more reliant are more likely to rely on formal loans as the on those who do own a vessel. most important loan source than non-agriculture households. High reliance on formal loans indicates Fishing and aquaculture households appear to availability of different credit programs. Apart have lower access to good housing and basic from NTP-provided loans, fishery households services than households in non-agriculture are entitled to borrow from  the  fishery-targeted sectors, decreasing their health and wellbeing. 20 Decree 67/2014 on several policies on fishery development 18 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 For example, fishing and aquaculture households— is support for buying health insurance cards (34 like agriculture households—typically live in percent of fishing and aquaculture households temporary or semi-permanent houses built with less receive this). About 0.5 percent of fishing and durable materials. Non-agriculture families typically aquaculture households receive fuel subsidies have better quality housing. Fishing and aquaculture for fishing vessels (Figure Annex 6), as part of a households are also less likely than non-agriculture government initiative to support fishers, since fuel households to have access to clean water and good represents a significant operational expense. While hygiene toilets, although more likely than agricultural nearly all poor households across sectors receive households; about 30 percent of fishing and at least one type of SP, the contribution of these aquaculture households have access to tap water benefits to total income is lower in poor fisheries and 86 percent have access to flush toilets, compared and aquaculture households (9%) than in poor to 57 percent and 94 percent of non-agricultural agriculture households (16%) and other sectors households, respectively. These differences in living (11% or more). While fishery households are more conditions are in line with differences in income, vulnerable compared to other sectors, this may but they leave fishing and aquaculture households indicate SP program design and/or implementation vulnerable to environmental hazards and health is not tailored to the specific needs of the fishing risks (see Figure Annex 3). One in five fishing and and aquaculture sector. aquaculture households reported health-related problems of family members worsen their living Fishing and aquaculture households have conditions. Fishing and aquaculture households also a similar coverage of health insurance as were more likely to visit medical establishments for other households, but very few make use treatment (80 percent) than agriculture (76 percent) of it. About 83 percent of heads of fishing and non-agriculture households (72 percent). and aquaculture households have some kind of health insurance—only slightly below the Fishing and aquaculture households, like national average. This includes targeted health those in agriculture, are more likely to receive insurance for the poor, non-poor, and other SP benefits than non-agriculture households. beneficiaries; compulsory health insurance; and About 34 percent of fishing and aquaculture and voluntary health insurance (Table Annex 4).21 Yet agriculture households receive at least one kind of only 8.6 percent use their cards during inpatient benefit, compared to 15 percent of non-agriculture examinations and treatments, possibly due to a households (Figure Annex 5). The most common lack of understanding of the benefits and coverage benefit fishing and aquaculture households receive provided by their health insurance card. It is difficult 21 Types of health insurance includes that for the poor and near-poor, free healthcare booklet/card/certificate, health insurance card for policy beneficiaries, and other compulsory state and non-state health insurance card. 19 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 for fishers—particularly those spending extended limited assets makes them highly vulnerable periods of time offshore—to take advantage of to shocks, including those related to climate, health insurance while at sea. health, and income. New regulations to improve fisheries-management tend to cause Fishing and aquaculture households rarely short-term, and possibly longer-term, disruptions participate in life and non-life insurance to income from fishing and pre and post-harvest programs, despite reporting—particularly activities. The limited household savings, skills, the poor—”sickness and death of household and employment opportunities in these sectors members” as a main driver of decline in make it difficult for fishery households to comply living conditions (Figure Annex 3). About 5 with regulations. However, Viet Nam’s SPL system percent of fishing and aquaculture households presents a range of opportunities for the GoV participate in life insurance, lower than the to strengthen fisheries management—including participation of non-agriculture households (7%) the new scheme to reduce inshore and offshore but higher than that of agriculture households fishing— by: (i) improving fishers’ and fish (3%). No reportedly poor fishing and aquaculture workers’ access to benefits through enhanced households participate in life insurance. Less than registration; (ii) enhancing SP programs’ coverage 2 percent of fishing and aquaculture households and effectiveness to meet the specific needs of the participate in non-life insurance—lower than in fisheries sector, as well as the objectives of fisheries other sectors— and only non-poor households management; and (iii) strengthening ALMPs to participate. Low insurance uptake could be due to encourage livelihood diversification and reduce the complexity of terms and conditions, a lack of reliance on capture fisheries. awareness of the availability and benefits, limited disposable income, or perceived low returns from the insurance program compared to the premiums. Registering and assessing 5.1.  fishers and fish workers Opportunities to connect 5.  The GoV can improve SPL coverage and SPL interventions with targeting by promoting registration of fisheries management informal fishers and fish workers in SPL and/or fisheries-information systems, while Section 5 illustrate that while Vietnamese collecting data to inform more effective involved in the fisheries sector are not the fisheries management. Ministries could work poorest, the informality of their work, together to encourage and support informal income dependence on the sector, and self-employed fishers and fish workers—as well 20 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 as enterprises that informally employ others— of their needs, enabling the design of more to register their activities and employees with attractive and more effectively policies to reduce local authorities and obtain required commercial vulnerability. The system is more relevant to licenses. Registration can link workers to various designing SP programs to promote sustainable social services and facilities, including SPL fishing practices. programs, leading to a mutually reinforcing cycle of benefits for communities and fisheries (Bladon et al. 2022). For example, registration could be Enhancing the coverage and 5.2.  incentivized by improving water, sanitation and effectiveness of SP programs hygiene (WASH) infrastructure22—which can add in the capture fisheries sector value to catch by reducing post-harvest losses and improving food safety—and conditioning access Fishers and fish workers should have access to this infrastructure based on registration. Strong to SPL and complementary programs during monitoring and enforcement of fisheries regulations shocks, including short-term decline in income would have to accompany this approach (see they must endure from fisheries management Box 5.1). In context of fishing pressure, registration and SPL regulations. Current policies to will allow monitor the reduction of numbers of support individuals and households harmed by vessels in the high seas. Government agencies can shocks are limited. Expanding or adapting social also work with fisheries associations and other assistance programs to provide cash transfers to local organizations to raise awareness of benefits fisheries households suffering income losses in to encourage registration in fisheries and SPL the event of all possible shocks—not just extreme information systems. circumstances such as natural disasters, but also from fisheries regulations such as closed seasons. Achieving interoperability between SPL Since unsustainable fishing practices are linked and fisheries databases can also capture to vulnerability, since they are used as a coping information on informal fishers and fish mechanism in times of shock, improved access workers to inform fisheries management to emergency cash transfer could help reduce and SPL policy design and implementation. such behavior. Public work programs, which can The recent data governance reforms pave the provide alternative job opportunities during closed way for this interoperability. Getting more fishers seasons, can be linked to environment protection- and fish workers into an integrated information related activities, such as waste collection from system can support rigorous assessments the ocean. 22 This could include the provision of safe water supply, improved sanitation facilities, improved drying processes, improved storage and transportation, and training on sanitation and hygiene (World Bank 2022). 21 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 Increasing government subsidy for warning system (EWS) should be implemented participation in the voluntary social insurance for all fishers and fish workers to access, which schemes should improve social insurance would require proper and regular registration. For coverage among fisheries workers. Improving both types of insurance, reaching fishers and fish social insurance coverage among fisheries workers workers will require campaigns to raise awareness is essential to reducing vulnerability and ensuring about the benefits of insurance and the available old-age income security. One reason for low social options. Workshops, community meetings, and insurance coverage is the low government subsidy information materials for this purpose should for the poor, near-poor, and informal workers; the target youth for maximum benefit. contribution subsidy under current regulations only accounts for an average 24 percent of the total contribution amount, much lower compared to 5.3. Strengthening ALMPs countries that have expanded voluntary schemes.23 to encourage livelihood Raising subsidy rates to 50 percent of monthly diversification in the capture social insurance premiums, more in line with other fisheries sector countries, would increase uptake among informal workers, including fisheries workers. Promoting livelihood diversification among Viet Nam’s fishers and fish workers could help Given the vulnerability of capture fisheries build their risk resilience, while supporting to natural disasters, workers would benefit long-term reduction in fishing. Fisheries from climate-resiliency insurance designed households have limited capacity to adapt to specifically for the sector. The Ministry of shocks and stresses due to their heavy reliance on Finance already subsidizes agricultural insurance, the sector. Livelihood diversification support can which could be extended this to the capture empower households to build economic resilience, fisheries sector, where households have limited thereby reducing the risk of non-compliance savings and are at least as vulnerable as agricultural with regulations and unsustainable fishing households. The product should draw on lessons activities, particularly linked to times of shock. from agricultural index-based insurance in Viet Nam, Fisheries households, especially those engaged in as well as global experience of parametric fisheries fishing, often lack job skills, a problem that can insurance.24 For anticipatory risk response, an early be addressed through VET programs. Options 23 The World bank. Assessment of VSS’s voluntary scheme. 2019 24 Parametric insurance is a non-traditional insurance product that offers pre-specified pay-outs based upon a trigger event. The first product to be developed for fisheries is the Caribbean’s COAST product, which enables rapid pay-outs for fishers and fish workers after extreme weather events (CCRIF, 2019) 22 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 for increasing income streams within the sector protection. They will be threatened by measures include training in fish processing, packaging, to reduce inshore and offshore fishing pressure, and branding for accessing higher-value markets and should be included in programs to incentivize (although value addition must be approached regulatory measures. Tailoring VET programs with caution, see Box 5.1). For workers changing according to women’s needs and aspirations occupations as part of the transformation policy, is likely to benefit their households and wider support should also include job-search assistance, fishing communities, and therefore support men access to low-interest loans, and startup capital to comply—who are mostly involved in capture for new ventures, as well as VET.25 To maximize fishing—with fishing regulations. ecological benefits, support should ideally be conditioned on the beneficiary giving up their Redirecting support, currently based vessel or other productive equipment (Box 5.1). on fishing costs, can improve fishery It is also critical that sectors to which fishers and management. Sector support provided under fish workers move can absorb the extra labor, and decree 67, includes support for the upgrade of that environmental harm is not shifted elsewhere. vessels and construction of new vessels and other For those remaining in the fisheries sector, VET equipment for offshore fisheries, crew training, programs can encourage more sustainable insurance premiums, fuel costs for vessels operating practices by building awareness of environmental offshore, and a range of tax exemptions. These issues and fisheries regulations. support areas are most likely to increase fishing effort that leads to stock depletion. Removal of These programs should be designed with the these direct support to fishery activities could different situations and needs of different create fiscal space to implement the SP and ALMP fisheries groups in mind, including men, measures discussed. This approach could deliver women and youth. Women are mostly informally benefits to all participants and the most vulnerable employed in pre and post-harvest activities, in the fishing sector. and often earn much less than men with fewer 25 The Peru government has provided training programmes and advisory support for fishers who exit the sector to restore the health of the stocks due to overfishing (Bladon et al. 2022). 23 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 BOX 5.1: POTENTIAL RISKS AND CHALLENGES IN LINKING SOCIAL PROTECTION AND LABOR WITH FISHERIES MANAGEMENT • Care must be taken that support to the fisheries sector does not have unintended consequences, such as an increase in fishing effort. Any program that increases profits—for example, through value addition— must be complemented by strong fisheries regulations, including controls on access, to avoid incentivizing more fishing. Similarly, the provision of loans and grants should be conditioned on use outside the fisheries sector, to encourage livelihood diversification as opposed to investment in fishing capacity—unless for post-harvest activities clearly linked to fisheries under improved management. • Designing social assistance and insurance programs to support fisheries regulations should also have an element of conditionality on compliance with those regulations. Otherwise assistance is less likely to change behavior. Although monitoring and enforcement is a challenge, fisheries associations and other organizations with local knowledge and trust of fishing communities can assist. • Global experience indicates that willingness to exit the fisheries sector varies widely, but small-scale fishers are often strongly attached to their livelihood. Rigorous research on community needs and aspirations is required for policies to reduce coastal and inland fishing to succeed. Without clear understanding and well-implemented programs, failed policies may push fishing households into poverty in the case that they are forced out of the fisheries sector and not want to engage in alternatives offered. Key conclusions, lessons 6.  and coordination between central, provincial, learned, and next steps district, and commune governments. Viet Nam’s capture fisheries sector faces Social assistance, social insurance, ALMPs, multiple interacting challenges that cannot and NTPs can each play a role in supporting be tackled through any one solution. To different groups in the fisheries sector with rebuild and maintain fish stocks, the GoV should different needs. For effective implementation reduce fishing capacity in coastal, inland, and of the transformation scheme, support for fishers offshore fisheries. In parallel, it must address and fish workers to find employment outside of vulnerabilities people who work in the sector face the fisheries sector will be critical. Building on in terms of threats to income and health as a result the GoV’s current digital transformation agenda, of climate shocks and regulations that force them achieving interoperability between social protection to reduce work. This will require a coordinated and databases, fisheries databases, and early warning integrated approach to SPL and fisheries policy, systems should help increase registration of fishers involving stronger inter-ministerial collaboration and fish workers, which can support expansion of 24 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 SP and other benefits to informal, self-employed various subsectors were not as large as they could workers. These efforts can also lead to provision have been, limiting the use of statistical analysis. of new data to inform more effective fisheries management. Finally, this case study gave no insights into the perspectives or aspirations of the coastal This case study relied on two large, rich and inland fishing communities who must datasets, allowing socioeconomic profiling participate for any transformation policy to of the fisheries sector, enabling comparison succeed. The brief focuses on generating robust between different groups within and outside quantitative information on the socioeconomic the sector. However, some caveats should be conditions and vulnerability of the fisheries sector. acknowledged. The VLHSS dataset was limited in More in-depth quantitative and qualitative research that it did not disaggregate fishing and aquaculture is required to inform policy and ensure that ALMPs households, thus obscuring differences between and other benefits support fishers’ transition to them, and it did identify households involved sectors in which they want to engage. in other value chain activities. Although the LFS dataset provided more detailed information on We propose carrying out in-depth, qualitative individual workers—with disaggregation between data collection with a module on fisheries in fishing, aquaculture, and post-harvest—neither the the Mekong Delta. The World Bank team has VLHSS nor the LFS datasets allowed identification submitted a proposal to conduct a follow-up survey or comparison of households or individuals in the Mekong Delta region, a large contributor employed in small-scale, coastal fisheries versus to the fishery sector, accounting for about 65 those employed in the large-scale, offshore fleet. percent of Viet Nam’s fishery production. The It is likely that disaggregating and comparing region is also one of the most severely exposed these groups would have uncovered differences to climate change risks due to its flat topography in socioeconomic profiles, including access to, and and subsiding plains. The survey aims to explore need for, social protection. Such analysis could challenges capture fisheries workers face, including lead to more comprehensive recommendations to economic opportunities and their employment support these different workers under Viet Nam’s aspirations in the short, medium, and long-term. transformation scheme. Findings from the survey will inform policy recommendations to link SP program with fisheries This study was also limited by the surveys’ sectors, and provide baseline inputs for joint World sampling frameworks. They were not stratified Bank-GoV Sustainable Fishery Development and by sector of employment, which meant that the Mekong Delta Climate Resilience and Integrated sample sizes of the fisheries population and its Transformation Projects under preparation. 25 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 References Anil Markandya and Hanh Duong. “Viet Nam’s Marine Economy: A Framework for Evaluating its Contributions to Sustainable Green Growth”. (forthcoming) Eckstein, D., Künzel, V., Schäfer, L., & Winges, M. (2019). Global Climate Risk Index 2020. Who Suffers Most from Extreme Weather Events? Weather-Related Loss Events in 2018 and 1999 to 2018. Germanwatch e.V: Berlin. Duy, Nguyen Ngoc, and Ola Flaaten. “Government support and profitability effects–Viet Namese offshore fisheries.” Marine policy 61 (2015): 77-86. FAO. 2019. Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profiles: The Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Rome. FAO. 2022 The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022. Towards Blue Transformation. Rome. FAO. 2023. FishStat - Fisheries and Aquaculture (fao.org) GIZ. 2022. Agricultural insurance in the ASEAN region: VIET NAM (asean-agrifood.org) ILO. 2023. World Social Protection Database MOLISA.2022. Report on the implementation of Resolution 15 on key social policies 2022. MOLISA.2023. Assessment report on the impact of the social insurance law revision. Nguyen TVH (2022) Welfare impact of climate change on capture fisheries in Viet Nam. PLoS ONE 17(4): e0264997. https://doi.org/10.1371​ /journal.pone.0264997 Phuong T. A. Huynh, Ngoan D. Le, Sen T. H. Le & Hong X. Nguyen (2021) Vulnerability of Fishery-Based Livelihoods to Climate Change in Coastal Communities in Central Viet Nam, Coastal Management, 49:3, 275-292, DOI: 10.1080/08920753.2021.1899927 Pomeroy, R., Nguyen, K.A.T. and Thong, H.X., 2009. Small-scale marine fisheries policy in Viet Nam. Marine Policy, 33(2), pp.419-428. Virdin et al 2023 Fishing for subsistence constitutes a livelihood safety net for populations dependent on aquatic foods around the world | Nature Food Tran N, Chan CY, Aung YM, Bailey C, Akester M, Cao QL, Trinh TQ, Hoang CV, Sulser TB and Wiebe K (2022) Foresighting future climate change impacts on fisheries and aquaculture in Viet Nam. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 6:829157. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2022.829157 Sarah Harper, U Rashid Sumaila (2019) Distributional impacts of fisheries subsidies and their reform: case studies of Senegal and Viet Nam. IIED Working Paper. IIED, London. World Bank. 2019. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/457311600401962011/pdf/A-Vision-for-the-2030-Social-Protection-System- in-Viet Nam.pdf World Bank. 2019. Situation Assessment of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) in Vietnam. World Bank. 2021. A Trade-Based Analysis of the Economic Impact of Non-Compliance with Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing: The Case of Viet Nam. The World Bank: Washington, DC. World Bank. 2022. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Fisheries and Aquaculture: Guidance Note. The World Bank: Washington, DC. World Bank. 2023. Roadmap towards an integrated social protection information system in Viet Nam. The World Bank: Washington, DC. World Bank. 2023. World Bank Group Climate Change Knowledge Portal World Bank (forthcoming). A snapshot of Viet Nam 2020 stock assessment report. 26 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 Annex A TABLE A. 1. THE EMPLOYMENT TYPE OF HOUSEHOLD HEADS. Fishing and aquaculture Agriculture Non-agriculture Formal wage (with contract) 0.3 0.1 2.6 Formal wage (with social insurance) 0.7 0.5 19.1 Informal wage 21.3 4.1 14.7 Self-employed 67.3 85.9 45.4 Non-working 10.4 9.4 18.2 Total 100 100 100 Source: authors’ calculation based on the 2020 VHLSS FIGURE A. 1. PER CAPITA INCOME DISTRIBUTION. 0.8 0.6 Density 0.4 0.2 0 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Log (income per capita) Fishing and aquaculture HHs Agriculture HHs Non-agriculture HHs Source: authors’ calculation based on the 2020 VHLSS 27 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 TABLE A. 2. AVERAGE MONTHLY INCOME OF WORKERS BY ECONOMIC SECTOR AND GENDER. Economic sector Indicator Women Men Total Crop Monthly income (int. USD) 362.0 575.5 484.8 Hourly income (int. USD) 3.0 4.3 3.8 Weekly hours worked at the main job 30.9 34.2 32.5 Livestock Monthly income (int. USD) 326.0 470.1 393.2 Hourly income (int. USD) 3.2 3.9 3.6 Agriculture Weekly hours worked at the main job 24.5 28.6 26.3 Support activities for Monthly income (int. USD) 461.5 583.7 542.9 livestock and crop Hourly income (int. USD) 3.0 3.9 3.6 Weekly hours worked at the main job 36.3 38.7 37.9 Forestry Monthly income (int. USD) 368.2 489.1 453.5 Hourly income (int. USD) 2.6 3.5 3.3 Weekly hours worked at the main job 34.0 35.9 35.3 Marine capture fishing Monthly income (int. USD) 535.4 910.7 888.1 Hourly income (int. USD) 3.7 5.3 5.2 Weekly hours worked at the main job 35.1 48.0 46.5 Inland capture fishing Monthly income (int. USD) 454.8 708.5 673.9 Hourly income (int. USD) 3.5 4.6 4.5 Weekly hours worked at the main job 33.3 39.0 37.7 Marine aquaculture Monthly income (int. USD) 731.5 923.2 896.3 Fisheries and aquaculture Hourly income (int. USD) 4.6 6.2 6.0 Weekly hours worked at the main job 31.5 40.8 38.6 Inland aquaculture Monthly income (int. USD) 521.2 777.6 733.5 Hourly income (int. USD) 5.0 5.8 5.6 Weekly hours worked at the main job 25.7 36.3 33.3 Fish processing Monthly income (int. USD) 697.2 844.5 745.3 Hourly income (int. USD) 3.9 4.7 4.2 Weekly hours worked at the main job 45.6 46.0 45.7 Building of ships and Monthly income (int. USD) 749.5 1013.8 990.1 floating structures Hourly income (int. USD) 4.1 5.3 5.2 Weekly hours worked at the main job 42.1 46.7 46.3 Fish trading Monthly income (int. USD) 353.5 995.6 635.0 Hourly income (int. USD) 1.9 6.7 4.0 Weekly hours worked at the main job 46.1 44.2 45.3 Other service activities Monthly income (int. USD) 842.9 986.2 921.1 Hourly income (int. USD) 4.9 5.6 5.3 Others  Weekly hours worked at the main job 44.4 45.6 45.1 Total Monthly income (int. USD) 721.8 873.1 806.0 Hourly income (int. USD) 4.4 5.3 4.9 Weekly hours worked at the main job 39.4 42.0 40.8 Source: authors’ calculation based on the 2020 LFS 28 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 TABLE A. 3. SHARE OF EMPLOYEES AND SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS WITH AN HOURLY INCOME (WAGE AND PROFIT) BELOW 2/3 OF THE MEDIAN NATIONAL INCOME. Number of employees with hourly income: >=2/3 national <2/3 national Total % in low pay rate median wage median wage Crop 510,309 311,451 821760 37.9% Livestock 32,605 14,466 47071 30.7% Support activities for livestock and crop 178,669 115,784 294453 39.3% Forestry 114,464 105,842 220306 48.0% Total agriculture 836,047 547,543 1,383,590 39.6% Marine capture fishing 154,020 46,067 200087 23.0% Inland capture fishing 16,561 9,271 25832 35.9% Marine aquaculture 13,304 4,390 17694 24.8% Inland aquaculture 42,567 21,036 63603 33.1% Fish processing 215,376 60,509 275885 21.9% Building of ships and floating structures 35,524 3,246 38770 8.4% Fish trading 400 876 1276 68.7% Total fisheries and aquaculture 477,752 145,395 623,147 23.3% Other service activities 19,866,865 3,137,548 23004413 13.6% Total 21,180,664 3,830,486 25,011,150 15.3% Number of self-employed workers (employers and own-account) with hourly income: >=2/3 national <2/3 national Total % in low-income median income median income rate Crop 3,999,295 3,144,282 7143577 44.0% Livestock 1,260,061 979,241 2239302 43.7% Support activities for livestock and crop 40,021 12,625 52646 24.0% Forestry 138,144 118,192 256336 46.1% Total agriculture 5,437,521 4,254,340 9,691,861 43.9% Marine capture fishing 128,157 12,021 140178 8.6% Inland capture fishing 100,763 25,170 125933 20.0% Marine aquaculture 39,136 4,790 43926 10.9% Inland aquaculture 398,969 60,083 459052 13.1% Fish processing 10,938 696 11634 6.0% Building of ships and floating structures 2,476 566 3042 18.6% Fish trading 356 220 576 38.2% Total fisheries and aquaculture 680,795 103,546 784,341 13.2% Other service activities 8,119,785 1,421,692 9541477 14.9% Total 14,238,101 5,779,578 20,017,679 28.9% Source: authors’ calculation based on the 2020 LFS 29 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 FIGURE A. 2. HOUSEHOLD INCOME SOURCES (% OF TOTAL INCOME GENERATED BY HOUSEHOLDS IN DIFFERENT SECTORS). Non- agriculture Agriculture Fishing and aquaculture 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Salaries/wages Agriculture production Fishing and aquaculture Production, business and services outside agr./for. Others (aids, renting out land, house(s)...) Source: authors’ calculation based on the 2020 VHLSS FIGURE A. 3. THE MOST IMPORTANT REASON OF WORSENING LIVING CONDITIONS (%). Other reasons Unfortunate events (house on fire, steal, traffic accident) Decreased arable land/water surface for aquaculture production Conflicts or other problems among family... Job loss or underemployment Low incomes High prices of food, foodstuff, and other consumer goods Household member(s) is sick or dies Droughts, floods, pests, and harvest loss affect production Cattle and poultry suffer from epidemics or death Low selling prices of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products Increased production costs in agriculture, forestry and fisheries 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Non-agriculture Agriculture Fishing and aquaculture Source: authors’ calculation based on the 2020 VHLSS 30 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 FIGURE A. 4. PURPOSES OF AVAILING LOANS (% OF HOUSEHOLDS TAKING LOANS FOR EACH PURPOSE IN DIFFERENT SECTORS). Non- agriculture Agriculture Fishing and aquaculture 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Production Consumption Other Source: authors’ calculation based on the 2020 VHLSS FIGURE A. 5. SHARE OF HOUSEHOLDS RECEIVING BENEFITS FROM POLICIES/PROGRAMS (%). 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Non-poor Poor Total Non-poor Poor Total Non-poor Poor Total Fishing and aquaculture Agriculture Non-agriculture Source: authors’ calculation based on the 2020 VHLSS TABLE A. 4. ACCESS OF HOUSEHOLDS TO HEALTH INSURANCE CARDS AND THEIR OUT- AND IN-SERVICE USAGE (% OF HOUSEHOLDS).   Fishing and Agriculture Non-agriculture aquaculture Having a health insurance card or a free 83.0 88.8 86.4 healthcare card Using health insurance cards in outpatient 32.7 34.5 32.1 examinations and treatments Using health insurance cards in inpatient 8.6 11.8 8.2 examinations and treatments Source: authors’ calculation based on the 2020 VHLSS 31 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 FIGURE A. 6. TYPES OF BENEFITS FROM POLICIES/PROGRAMS (% OF HOUSEHOLDS RECEIVING EACH TYPE OF BENEFIT FROM POLICIES/PROGRAMS). Others Food aid Mean-tested benefits for poor households Mean-tested benefits for revolutionary contributors Mean-tested benefits for low-income officials and civil servants Support for electricity bills for poor households Support in cleaning/improving daily-life water supplies for poor households Support in housing and residential land for poor households Vocational training for the poor and low-income earners Policy-based scholarships Reduction of and exemption from tuition fees for the poor Reduction of and exemption from costs of medical checks/treatment for the poor Support in purchasing health insurance cards Support machinery, production inputs (fertilizers, breeds, seedlings, etc) Preferential credit for the poor Subsidized fuel for fishing boat(s)/vessel(s) Support in migrating abroad for employment Extension services in agriculture, forestry and fisheries Provide land for production to poor ethnic minority households 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Non-agriculture Agriculture Fishing and aquaculture Source: authors’ calculation based on the 2020 VHLSS 32 SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS | POLICY & TECHNICAL NOTE    JUNE 2024 | No. 41 Blue Social Protection Series: Protecting People, Fish and Food Integrating Social Protection and Jobs with Fisheries Management • Conceptual Framework (May 2022) Country Case Studies (June 2024) • Overview of Country Case Studies • Costa Rica: Exploring alternatives for the economic inclusion of low-income, artisanal fisher communities • Kenya: Supporting sustainability in Kenya’s fisheries through social protection and labor market interventions • Solomon Islands: Opportunities for linking fisheries management and social protection • Sri Lanka: Integrating social protection and economic inclusion with management of Sri Lanka’s coastal fisheries • Viet Nam: Connecting social protection, labor market interventions and fisheries management © 2024 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW Washington DC 20433 Telephone: +1 (202) 473 1000 Internet: www.worldbank.org This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. 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