Title: Attaining sustainable fishing in Nui Thanh District,Quang Nam Province, Vietnam.

Coastal fisheries play an essential role in the economic development of Nui Thanh district. Various reports state that the fisheries currently suffer from overfishing and overcapacity but have no quantitative research or numeric data to support that claim. Primary and secondary data are used to analyse the status and trends in the number of fishermen, fishing effort, landings, CPUE and examine current management policies. Bio-economic models are also used to estimate several fisheries management reference points. The fishing capacity and landings have increased while CPUE has decreased. The maximum sustainable yield (MSY) is estimated to be at about 26,500 tons which is reached when the fleet has a total capacity of 80,500 HP (fMSY). Furthermore, maximum economic yield (MEY) estimated to be 25,500 tons which is reached when the fleet’s capacity is around 64,300 HP. That would yield a profit of appropriate 864.5 billion VND (39.3 million USD). Finally, the Nui Thanh’s coastal marine biomass stock is estimated at maximum level of about 126,500 tons. Fishing capacity controls should be implemented to reduce excessive fishing effort. ITQ and TURF management policies are feasible methods to move the coastal fisheries of Nui Thanh district towards a sustainable path.