Combating IUU fishing is an important task, a position and image of the country.

BTO-That was the strong direction of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang at the preliminary conference of the National Steering Committee against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) held on the afternoon of June 17. In Binh Thuan , Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Hong Hai attended the conference with leaders of relevant departments and branches.

At the conference, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien reported on the situation and results of combating IUU fishing since the 4th inspection by the European Commission (EC) to date. At the same time, he discussed solutions and urgent and key tasks to prepare for working with the 5th EC Inspection Delegation.
After nearly 7 years (since October 23, 2017) of carrying out the task of removing the EC's "Yellow Card" warning, implementing Directive No. 32-CT/TW of the Secretariat, Resolution No. 52/NQ-CP of the Government, the Prime Minister's instructions and the conclusions of the Head of the National Steering Committee on IUU; through 4 inspections by the EC to date, the situation of combating IUU fishing has achieved some remarkable results. Accordingly, the legal framework has been completed, meeting the requirements of combating IUU fishing, promptly amending and supplementing a number of contents of Decree 26/2019/ND-CP, Decree 42/2019/ND-CP and Circular 23/2019/TT-BNN related to issues of controlling aquatic raw materials imported through Vietnamese seaports by container ships; regulations on penalties for acts of violating permitted boundaries at sea detected through the fishing vessel monitoring system and resolving the issue of “3 no’s” fishing vessels – no registration, no fishing license, no inspection. In particular, the Council of Judges of the Supreme People’s Court has just issued Resolution 04 dated June 12, 2024 applying a number of provisions of the Penal Code on criminal prosecution for acts related to illegal exploitation, trading, and transportation of aquatic products. In addition, law enforcement and handling of IUU fishing violations have been tightened more than before…

However, some tasks have been very slow to change, not meeting the requirements recommended by the EC. The situation of fishing vessels and fishermen illegally exploiting foreign waters has not been prevented or stopped. Up to now, the registration, granting of fishing licenses, installation of VMS equipment and handling of "3 no" fishing vessels have not been completed. The work of tracing the origin is still limited, the work of handling IUU violations is still lacking in determination, unity and unevenness among localities...

Speaking at the conference, the provinces of Kien Giang, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Nghe An, Khanh Hoa, and Ca Mau quickly reported on some of the difficulties they are facing when implementing measures to combat IUU fishing, such as: violations of foreign waters still occur; the removal of VMS equipment and sending it to other vessels is complicated; the management and supervision of both onshore and offshore fleets are not strict; there are still fishing vessels that do not dock to unload aquatic products according to regulations... Thereby, the Deputy Prime Minister requested Khanh Hoa province to consider criminally handling 3 enterprises that committed fraud in the records of confirmation and certification of the origin of exploited aquatic products according to the EC's recommendations in the 4th inspection, according to the newly issued Resolution 04.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Hong Hai spoke at the conference

Regarding the problems surrounding the “3 no” ships, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Hong Hai said that Binh Thuan is a province with a large number of ships, more than 8,000, so fleet management is facing many difficulties.

Recently, the province has strengthened the review, statistics, control and temporary licensing of "3 no" ships with a number of 2,515 ships. However, this number is still arising due to the loose management of fishing vessels in localities. The Provincial People's Committee committed to making efforts to thoroughly review and handle "3 no" ships by September, not allowing fishing vessels and fishermen to violate foreign waters. Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang requested that within 2 weeks, localities must make a list of fishing vessels at risk of violating foreign waters and have a plan to strictly manage this fleet. If later, one of the ships on this list violates foreign waters, the leaders of the Provincial People's Committee must take responsibility.

After listening to the opinions of representatives of relevant ministries, branches and associations, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang said that we have achieved many positive results, in which the issuance of Directive 32 of the Secretariat shows great determination. In addition, Resolution 04 of the Council of Judges has just been issued, including 10 groups of behaviors that can be prosecuted for criminal liability. This is considered the core content of the 10th Steering Committee meeting.

However, based on the EC's recommendations in the 4th inspection, Vietnam has not made many changes, the number of fishing vessels violating foreign waters still occurs; the situation of removing VMS equipment and sending it to other vessels is complicated; control of fishing vessels is still loose...

Therefore, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang emphasized: The task of combating IUU fishing is an important task, the position and image of the country. This is the golden time to remove the IUU "yellow card" if the entire political system is involved. Requires central ministries, branches and localities to launch a 3-month peak period, urgently complete solutions before the EC delegation comes to inspect for the 5th time, encourage localities to have their own policies if deemed appropriate. In particular, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the thorough implementation, widespread propaganda, the impact of Resolution 04, and strong handling of violations to deter. At the same time, strengthen fleet management, be resolute in tracing the origin of aquatic products; handle IUU violations...

Mr. VAN

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