At the meeting, the delegation of the US Embassy in Hanoi included Mr. William A. Comley – Maritime Law Enforcement Advisor and representatives of their relevant units. The participants of Nha Trang University were Assoc. Prof. Dr. Trang Si Trung - Rector and representatives of related units. In addition, there was also the participation of representatives of Vietnam Tuna Association.

Through the meeting, the delegation of the US Embassy in Hanoi wanted to gain a better understanding about NTU’s studies and research on living marine resources and issues affecting the local tuna industry. The outcomes of the meeting will serve as a basis for the potential trainings and technical assistance for fishermen held by the cooperation between Nha Trang University and relevant U.S. agencies in the future.

At the meeting, Nha Trang University summarized the support from the US government and collaboration with US universities and represented some research projects/activities related to fishery resources management and conservation that have been implemented at Nha Trang University. In order to bring a larger, deeper impact on marine resources management, fishing and conservation, awareness raising, etc., especially for those who directly influence but at the same time benefit from the sea, Nha Trang University has made a number of suggestions for collaboration with the US Embassy in Hanoi such as: organizing training courses for fishermen, officers in fishing ports; Propagating the law for coastal fishermen and raise their awareness about marine environmental protection, especially in coastal areas; Assessing the problem of plastic waste, ghost fishing gears in fishing activities. Besides, the two sides can also jointly deploy models of protecting aquatic resources in coastal areas such as building a system of scrubbing reefs, marine conservation zones, protecting mangroves, coral reefs, sea grass beds or improving the livelihood capacity of the fishing community under the impact of climate change, extreme weather, risks, ...

Also on this business trip, the delegation of the US Embassy in Hanoi visited the Institute for Ship Research and Development (UNINSHIP) - Nha Trang University, thereby learning about the current shipbuilding technology of Nha Trang University.