Hai Phong tightens control and stops IUU fishing from the root

Coast Guard checks registration and inspection of fishing vessels.

"Come to your home, go to the port"

During the peak period of fighting against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, ships and boats of Squadron 11 (Command of Coast Guard Region 1) are actively performing their duties in the waters of Cat Ba, Bach Long Vi, and the Gulf of Tonkin...

In the above areas, CSB 9004, 6002, boat 722 not only perform duty, patrol, inspect, and monitor but also organize propaganda in many forms so that fishermen understand the regulations as well as the urgency of ending IUU fishing, protecting and sustainably developing the fisheries industry.

Mr. Le Cong Tien, captain of ship TH 81812 TS shared: “Our fishing boat catches seafood around Bach Long Vi island and often operates near the demarcation line in the sea between Vietnam and China. Previously, due to insufficient awareness, when the boat was not fishing, I often let it drift to save fuel, but because I did not pay attention to observing the coordinates, I crossed the demarcation line. But recently, with the propaganda and dissemination of legal knowledge on fishing activities and guidance on the permitted fishing area by officers and soldiers of the coast guard, we have strictly complied and not encroached on the waters of other countries.”

On land, officers and soldiers of the Coast Guard also "go to homes and ports" to propagate and guide vessel owners and fishermen on IUU fishing regulations. Every day, when a ship docks, officers and soldiers of Squadron 102 (Flotilla 11, Coast Guard Region 1 Command) are present to "stick to the port, welcome the ship" to propagate, guide, and work with the captain to check the VMS equipment, compare fishing coordinates, guide to fix technical errors, and show how to contact the authorities when encountering incidents at sea.

Fisherman Nguyen Van Ty, owner of fishing boat HT 90333 TS, said: “Thanks to the dedicated guidance of the Coast Guard, we are always confident when going to sea, no longer worried about violations. In the past, I sometimes found those regulations cumbersome and only made things difficult for people, but after listening to the officers' analysis, we understood that those regulations are to protect ourselves. Now, every time I go to sea, I consider turning on the monitoring device and keeping a logbook a habit.”

Lieutenant Colonel Dao Van Khanh, Political Commissar of Squadron 102, affirmed: “Promoting IUU fishing is not only a legal duty, but also a special form of mass mobilization, where each officer and soldier is both a propagandist and a friend of fishermen. We must speak so that people understand, act so that people believe, so that they voluntarily implement, only then can we stop IUU fishing from the root.”

According to Deputy Political Commissar of the Coast Guard Region 1 Command Truong Van Hung, propaganda work for fishermen is organized flexibly, diversely, and in accordance with practical conditions. During the implementation of tasks at sea, the Command of the Region instructs officers and soldiers on ships to take advantage of calm seas and waves to directly go on board the vessels to distribute propaganda leaflets, reminding fishermen to strictly comply with IUU fishing. During big waves and strong winds, officers and soldiers organize propaganda via walkie-talkies, icom systems, loudspeakers, etc. Thanks to that, not only does it raise awareness among fishermen but it also promptly prevents many fishing vessels from crossing the demarcation line of the Gulf of Tonkin.

Officers and soldiers of Coast Guard Region 1 Command propagate IUU regulations to fishermen.

Deploying multiple synchronous solutions

According to statistics, during the peak period of fighting against IUU fishing, up to now, the patrol and control ships of the Coast Guard Region 1 Command have organized propaganda for 35 ships/216 fishermen, distributed 225 leaflets of various types, and chased 190 foreign ships out of Vietnam's waters.

Units under the Regional Command coordinated with local Party committees, authorities, and border guards to propagate at ports, wharves, and docks to nearly 400 fishermen. The No. 1 Drug Crime Prevention Task Force (Vietnam Coast Guard) in the process of performing its task of propagating the law via fishing communication devices to hundreds of fishing boats with thousands of fishermen; mobile inspection and direct propaganda of 55 fishing boats/481 fishermen, distributed more than 480 leaflets and there were no cases of administrative violations...

In addition to promoting propaganda work, the Coast Guard closely coordinates with the following forces: Navy, Border Guard, Department of Agriculture and Environment of coastal provinces and cities to promptly exchange information, prevent, detect, investigate, and thoroughly handle IUU fishing violations, focusing on preventing and preventing violations. In particular, focusing on detecting fishing vessels that have not returned to their localities for a long time, have signs of IUU fishing or serious violations such as expired registration, inspection, etc.

At the same time, maintain joint patrols in the waters near the demarcation line of the Gulf of Tonkin between the Vietnam Coast Guard and the China Coast Guard to check compliance with regulations on combating IUU fishing by fishing vessels of both sides on the route.

The coast guard forces of the two countries promote the communication channel of the second-level contact point between the Command of Coast Guard Region 1 (Vietnam Coast Guard) and the South China Sea Branch/China Coast Guard; monthly, regularly or suddenly, they will notify each other of fishing vessels violating the two sides to strengthen management and handling work according to legal regulations.

In the coming time, to effectively prevent illegal fishing, agencies and units under the Regional Command will continue to synchronously and drastically deploy professional measures, strengthen reconnaissance forces to grasp information and situations of fishing vessels violating IUU fishing; do a good job of basic investigation, focusing on key areas, subjects at high risk of violations, organizations and individuals brokering the sending of vessels to foreign waters to illegally exploit seafood, etc. as a basis for advising, proposing and implementing measures to combat and prevent.

Organize to maintain and promote the effectiveness of the command center's on-duty team, grasp the actual situation of the sea area, information from all aspects, especially information on fishing vessels showing signs of violations, such as crossing the boundary, turning off the VMS device on the national fishing vessel monitoring system, promptly notify the coast guard ships performing tasks in the field to inspect, prevent and handle - Major General Tran Van Tho, Commander of Coast Guard Region 1 informed.

HOANG XUAN

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/hai-phong-siet-chat-kiem-soat-chan-tu-goc-khai-thac-iuu-526728.html