Local authorities are urgently issuing policies to facilitate job retraining for fishermen.

The scene at the An Giang province viewing point.

Attending the event at the An Giang provincial venue was Ho Van Mung, Alternate Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and Chairman of the People's Committee of An Giang Province.

At the meeting, after hearing reports from ministries, sectors, and localities on the results of implementing tasks to combat IUU fishing in the past week, the Prime Minister requested that agencies, units, and localities, based on their functions, duties, and powers, review all work related to combating IUU fishing.

The Prime Minister requested the Government Inspectorate, based on the review by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, to organize inspection teams to visit localities. If any province is not decisive in this matter, it must be dealt with immediately; any province that allows fishing vessels that do not meet the requirements to leave port must be inspected and held accountable.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is urgently working with other countries to unify information on Vietnamese fishing vessels and fishermen who have been detained and whose whereabouts are unknown; providing a list of fishing vessels and fishermen detained by foreign countries and returned to foreign countries from 2024 to the present in order to definitively resolve outstanding cases and networks involved in brokering the illegal exploitation of fishing vessels and fishermen abroad.

Based on information provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security has directed local police to decisively handle cases of fishing vessels and fishermen detained by foreign countries, as well as networks brokering the illegal exploitation of fishing vessels and fishermen abroad.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has prepared a progress report as requested by the EC and has sent it to relevant ministries, sectors, and localities for comments; it has analyzed and evaluated the work already done and the achievements made in order to finalize the report to be submitted to the European Commission (EC).

The Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security should review the situation and, if there is a shortage of personnel and resources for management, immediately report to the Government and the Prime Minister for consideration of additional funding to strengthen strict management. Currently, only 7 out of 22 provinces and cities have issued policies on vocational retraining for the people; therefore, the remaining 15 provinces and cities must issue these policies within the next 5 days.

Processing octopus for export at Kien Cuong Tac Cau Seafood Company.

Regarding the issue of illegal, unreported, and unregulated seafood shipments, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Processing and Export (VASEP) must take responsibility and intervene. Any business importing these illegal seafood shipments must be punished; the Party Secretary and Chairman of the People's Committee of any locality where such cases occur must be held accountable and punished according to Party regulations.

Immediately after the meeting with the National Steering Committee on IUU, the Chairman of the People's Committee of An Giang province, Ho Van Mung, directed departments, agencies, and localities to immediately implement a number of tasks.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee emphasized that local Party committees and authorities must uphold a high sense of responsibility, strengthen leadership and guidance, assign cadres and Party members, and mobilize the entire political system to participate in the task of combating IUU fishing. The Party Secretary will be held responsible if violations occur in their locality.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested the Provincial Police and Border Guard to direct their forces to coordinate with the People's Committees of communes, wards, and special zones to organize public meetings, especially inviting families of ship owners and fishermen, to disseminate new regulations on handling administrative violations in the fisheries sector, to promote awareness of not violating regulations on fishing in foreign waters, and regulations on IUU fishing…

Unloading seafood at Tac Cau port, An Giang province.

Regarding the handling of fishing vessels violating foreign waters, it is requested that the Provincial Border Guard Command take the lead in coordinating with the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the Department of Justice, and the Provincial Police to review the cases and resolve them completely this week, reporting the results to the Provincial People's Committee no later than Monday of next week.

Regarding the management of fishing vessels, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested that localities coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Environment to verify the accuracy of the data. After verifying the data, it is requested that the People's Committees of communes, wards, and special zones proceed with the registration of the "three no's" group of vessels this week.

The Department of Agriculture and Environment is increasing the quota for registering fishing vessels in localities. For unregistered vessels, localities are requested to establish working groups to work with vessel owners to request registration. Those owners who refuse registration will be dealt with according to regulations. Any locality still having vessels with "three no's" (no registration, no inspection, and no fishing license) will be held responsible.

Regarding the management of vessels that do not meet operational requirements, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested that localities assign officials to closely monitor them. For missing vessels currently awaiting deregistration procedures, ensure that all necessary documentation is complete. Local authorities are tasked with coordinating with the Department of Agriculture and Environment, local police, and border guards to investigate the missing vessels, preventing cases where vessels are reported missing but are not actually missing.

Monitoring fishing vessels through the VMS (Vehicle Monitoring System).

The Department of Agriculture and Environment is tasked with compiling a list of missing vessels, vessels whose registration has been cancelled, and vessels that do not meet the eligibility requirements, and publishing this information widely in the media. The Department of Agriculture and Environment will provide this list to maritime law enforcement agencies.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee instructed the Department of Agriculture and Environment to urgently finalize policies on rice support and vocational retraining for fishermen; and to strengthen patrols and inspections at sea. The Provincial Inspectorate and the Department of Justice were tasked with establishing a working group to inspect, review, and close violation files.

The Department of Agriculture and Environment drafted a document for the Provincial People's Committee to sign and send to businesses reporting on the import and export of goods to Europe. The Provincial Police proactively organized inspections of a number of businesses…

Text and photos: THUY TRANG

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/cac-dia-phuong-khan-truong-ban-hanh-chinh-sach-chuyen-doi-nghe-cho-ngu-dan-a470528.html