Combating IUU fishing to lift the European Commission's yellow card warning in the next inspection is one of the industry's key priorities in 2024.
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| The number of fishing vessels and fishermen detained by foreign countries has decreased significantly, but it has not stopped completely. |
The Fisheries Inspection Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recently held a conference to summarize the work of enforcing fisheries laws, combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in 2023, discuss tasks and solutions for 2023, and sign a coordination agreement between the forces.
In 2023, the fisheries inspection force coordinated with the Coast Guard, local border guards, navy, and local fisheries inspectors to conduct joint patrols, specialized patrols, support fishermen in legally exploiting marine resources, combat IUU fishing, and prevent Vietnamese fishing vessels from violating foreign waters in the southwestern sea area and the Gulf of Tonkin.
According to Mr. Duong Van Cuong, Deputy Director of the Fisheries Inspection Department, the fisheries inspection force, the navy, and the coast guard regularly maintain 40-42 vessels, combined with the use of DHC-6 aircraft, to continuously patrol, inspect, and control the border and overlapping sea areas between Vietnam and Thailand and Malaysia to combat IUU fishing and ensure the security and safety of fishermen engaged in legal fishing activities.
The fisheries inspection force conducted 28 patrols, inspections, and controls at sea using fisheries inspection vessels and 12 patrol boats, involving 530 officers and crew members. They inspected 1,061 fishing vessels, detecting 161 violations, including 118 domestic and 43 foreign vessels; and imposed fines totaling over 12 billion VND, either within their authority or by referring cases to higher-level authorities for administrative penalties.
Mr. Tran Xuan Hoc, Deputy Director of the Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, shared that Nghe An province has established a local fisheries inspection force, but this force is still young. Therefore, Mr. Hoc suggested that the Fisheries Inspection Department organize joint patrols to strengthen the connection between central and local fisheries inspections, advise on amending and increasing the sea-going allowance for this force, and advise the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to issue unified directives on the organization and operation of the fisheries inspection force.
Lieutenant General Nguyen Trong Binh, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Head of the Ministry of National Defense's Steering Committee on IUU fishing, stated that during the European Commission's (EC) fourth inspection on combating IUU fishing, Vietnam has still not met the EC's requirements to have the "yellow card" lifted. The most important indicator, reducing the number of vessels violating foreign waters, remains unmet.
"To combat IUU (Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated) fishing, coastal localities need to effectively disseminate information to the people. The responsibility of the localities is therefore very important. We hope that the localities will understand and share the concerns of the functional forces and work together to effectively resolve the issue," Mr. Binh shared.
According to Mr. Hoang Trung, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, the fight against IUU fishing in 2023 received strong and coordinated guidance and implementation from the central to local levels by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of National Defense, and the governments of 28 coastal provinces and cities, achieving many important results.
However, Mr. Trung noted that some shortcomings and limitations still exist, such as the fact that the fight against IUU fishing in general remains limited and needs to be urgently addressed within the next six months, before the 5th EC inspection team visits Vietnam; the situation of fishing vessels and fishermen being arrested and prosecuted by foreign countries has decreased significantly but has not completely ended, with many sophisticated and complex methods being employed…
Mr. Hoang Trung affirmed that combating IUU fishing to lift the European Commission's yellow card warning in the next inspection (scheduled for April 2024) is one of the industry's key tasks in 2024. Relevant agencies, localities, and especially the Fisheries Inspection Department, need to develop implementation plans and coordinate in a systematic and decisive manner.
Accordingly, the Deputy Minister directed that in 2024, the Fisheries Inspection Department should focus on advising and decisively implementing solutions to combat IUU fishing in accordance with Official Dispatch 1058/CĐ-TTg, Directive 102/CT-BQP of the Minister of National Defense, and Announcement No. 539/TB-VPCP dated December 25, 2023, on the conclusions of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang at the 8th meeting of the National Steering Committee on combating IUU fishing.
Timely submission to the Prime Minister for approval of the overall plan for the development of the fisheries inspection force until 2030, with a vision to 2045; submission to the Government for promulgation of the Decree amending/supplementing Decree No. 26/2019/ND-CP, and the Decree amending Decree No. 42/2019/ND-CP.
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