Ham Tan: To prevent fishing boats from violating foreign waters

As one of the localities in the province with few means of fishing, especially boats over 15 m can be counted on the fingers, and there is no wharf or port for large-capacity boats, yet in early 2023, a fishing boat in Tan Xuan commune - Ham Tan district violated illegal fishing in foreign waters and was arrested by Malaysian authorities. That information surprised the authorities because of the superficial and lax management of fishing boats at that time.

Tight control of fishing vessels

After that incident, the Standing Committee of the District Party Committee and the District People's Committee issued many documents to lead, direct, and mobilize the political system to take drastic action, along with the responsibility of the heads of agencies, units, and localities in combating IUU fishing. Tan Thang Border Guard Station and the People's Committees of communes with fishing vessels continued to assign officers and soldiers to regularly contact and grasp the situation of fishing vessels, especially those at high risk of violating foreign waters.

Fishing boats at sea (illustrative photo).

Currently, in the district, there are about 500 fishing boats with lengths from 6 m to under 12 m and coracles operating inshore; there are only 7 fishing boats from 12 m to under 15 m and 2 fishing boats from 15 m and above, the number of fishing boats is concentrated in Tan Thang, Thang Hai, Tan Xuan and Son My communes. Through review, there is 1 case of a fishing boat (registration number BTh-86495-TS, length 10.4 m, owner is Tran Ngoc Thien, Da Mai 2 village, Tan Xuan commune) that has been sold out of the locality for a long time, has not implemented the regulations on name transfer, the operating status as well as information about the new owner of the boat cannot be determined. The locality has identified it as a high-risk fishing boat, but has not been able to obtain accurate information, and it is not anchored at local seaports, so the authorities and functional forces cannot monitor and supervise this fishing boat. In addition, through further information, there are currently 2 other fishing vessels on the high-risk list with a length of less than 12 m operating and anchored for a long time in Kien Giang province, including: BTh 82306-TS, 7.5 m long, owner Le Tien Sy; and BTh 82307-TS, 7.1 m long, owner Tran Xuan Tu, both residing in Go Don hamlet, Tan Thang commune.

It can be seen that, although it is not a key fishing area of ​​the province, just a few vessels out of control can easily cause unwanted violations of foreign waters. According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nam - Vice Chairman of Ham Tan District People's Committee, from that list, the district and commune socio-political organizations continue to integrate activities to propagate and mobilize party members, association members, union members and fishermen (directly ship owners and captains) to comply with the provisions of the law on fishing activities. In addition, assign responsibilities, monitor, grasp the situation of the area, and supervise subjects at high risk of violations. Mobilize people to actively denounce suspicious cases to proactively prevent and promptly prevent illegal fishing in foreign waters. Thanks to that, from 2023 to now, the locality has not allowed any similar cases to occur. There were no violations of brokerage and collusion in sending fishing vessels and fishermen to illegally exploit in foreign waters.

Ho Lan estuary is one of 10 storm shelter anchorage areas for provincial fishing boats but is often silted up.

Don't be subjective or negligent.

One of the current difficulties that the locality is facing is that there are two seaports in the area, Ho Lan and Ha Lang, which are places for fishing boats to anchor and take shelter. However, for many years now, in the dry season, these two seaports have been silted up by the current, causing difficulties for boats to enter and anchor for fishermen. Many fishing boats have had to move and anchor at La Gi Port and Binh Chau Port (Xuyen Moc District, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province), affecting the lives of fishermen, as well as making it difficult to manage fishing boats. In addition, illegal fishing, the use of prohibited fishing gear, and trawling to exploit seafood near the district's shores still occur, and outsiders are still operating secretly and have not been promptly detected and thoroughly handled.

Propagating, disseminating and educating the law, especially for ship owners, captains and fishermen operating in distant seas.

The Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ham Tan district added that in the coming time, relevant agencies, units and People's Committees of communes with ships will continue to focus on the tasks of combating IUU fishing. Strictly implement the directives of superiors; absolutely do not be subjective or negligent, in order to put an end to the situation of fishing vessels and fishermen of the district illegally exploiting seafood in foreign waters.

At the same time, promote and maintain regular and continuous propaganda, dissemination and education of the law, especially for ship owners, captains, fishermen operating in distant waters, offshore fishing vessels that regularly operate, stay and depart from ports outside the province. Review the list of local fishing vessels that are staying and operating outside the province, especially for groups of fishing vessels at risk of violating foreign waters to mobilize, propagate and request to sign a commitment not to violate foreign waters. Monitor and supervise the activities of shipbuilding facilities in the two communes, resolutely not to allow illegal "3 no" fishing vessels to arise in the coming time. The authorities continue to strengthen patrols and inspections to detect and strictly handle violations of the law in the field of fisheries.

However, in order to effectively carry out the tasks of combating IUU fishing, the People's Committee of Ham Tan district proposed that the Provincial People's Committee pay attention and request the Provincial Border Guard Command to allocate funds to purchase and equip canoes so that Tan Thang Border Guard Station has the means to carry out patrols and control at seaports to detect and handle violations. Assign relevant departments and branches to survey, research and establish projects, and allocate capital to carry out dredging of 2 seaports, ensuring the implementation of the task of a fishing port combined with a storm shelter for boats. Thereby creating favorable conditions for the development of the fisheries exploitation industry as well as the management of fishing vessels in the district.

In addition, the Department of Agriculture and Environment is requested to direct the functional forces (Fisheries Control) to coordinate with the Border Guard force to review information and operating status of fishing vessel BTh-86495 TS (the fishing vessel was sold to a resident of La Gi town since 2022, the buyer is unknown). If it is determined that the vessel is still operating, the buyer is required to carry out the procedures for buying and selling fishing vessels according to regulations. In case the buyer's information and operating status of the fishing vessel cannot be determined, the Department of Fisheries is requested to consider removing the registration of this fishing vessel...

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/ham-tan-de-khong-con-tau-ca-vi-pham-vung-bien-nuoc-ngoai-130156.html