Reports released at the conference entitled, "Management, Exploitation and Consumption of Ocean Tuna," in the central coastal city of Nha Trang on August 1, said that Viet Nam earned more than 52 million USD from exports of over 19,000 tonnes of tuna in the first half of this year.

According to recent studies by the Ministry of Fisheries, Vietnamese waters have a reserve of around 45,000 tonnes of tuna, with the average amount fished hitting 17,000 tonnes per year.

However, only 30-50 percent of the country's tuna catch a year qualifies for exports, which experts at the conference attibuted to inadequate and low-quality processing and preservation facilities and techniques.

At present, the three central provinces of Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa are home to almost 1,600 of the 1,670 country's tuna vessels./.