Perfecting the data system, thoroughly handling IUU violations

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha speaks at the meeting. (Photo: Diep Truong/VNA)

On December 2, at the Government Headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, Deputy Head of the National Steering Committee on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU), chaired the 24th meeting of the Steering Committee, connecting online with 21 coastal provinces and cities.

Complete 101/101 missions

At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phung Duc Tien said that the agricultural sector has resolutely implemented solutions to combat IUU fishing and achieved remarkable results.

As of November 29, ministries, branches and localities have completed 101/101 tasks assigned by the Prime Minister; handled 100% of violations, with a total of more than 4,037 cases being punished, with fines totaling about 162 billion VND.

Authorities have prosecuted 91 cases related to IUU fishing with 138 defendants.

Of the 71 Vietnamese fishing vessels detained by foreign countries, authorities have dealt with 53 vessels, equivalent to nearly 74%. The remaining are being verified to clarify each case, including cases of using fake license plates or boat owners no longer living in the locality, making handling difficult.

The total number of fishing vessels currently registered by localities and updated on the National Fisheries Database (VNFishbase) is 79,243/79,243. Fishing vessels that are not qualified to operate have been controlled and assigned to communes/wards and management forces for anchorage locations.

During the week, the police brought to trial 2 cases/3 defendants for the crimes of "Organizing illegal exit and entry for others" and "Obstruction or disruption of computer networks, telecommunications networks, and electronic devices;" 100% of fishing vessels that lost connection to the Vehicle Monitoring System (VMS) and crossed maritime boundaries were handled.

Regarding a number of swordfish batches exported from Khanh Hoa to the EU that were warned, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has directed the review of all documents, clarified suspicions of fraud; coordinated with the Ministry of Finance to compare input-output data of the supply chain to serve handling according to regulations.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is completing all documents and providing data to serve the EC delegation during the inspection process; coordinating with relevant agencies to amend the Fisheries Law and the system of decrees and circulars to ensure consistency and synchronization when issued in the coming time.

Regarding the progress of deploying VNFishbase, a representative of the Military Industry - Telecommunications Group (Viettel) said that fishing vessels are fully updated with information, including data on ship owners, crew members and entry and exit processes, and directly queried from the National Population Database.

The system also integrates administrative penalty data, helping to manage violations at sea and on shore in a synchronous manner. Management processes related to construction, registration, inspection, conversion, transfer and technical supervision are built and continuously updated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to ensure that the data is "correct, complete, clean and alive."

Connecting the vessel monitoring system (VMS) and auxiliary subsystems will help manage fishing vessels, monitor fishing activities and handle violations effectively, transparently and synchronously.

Overview of the meeting. (Photo: Diep Truong/VNA)

A representative of Viettel Group proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment develop a comprehensive project on digital transformation management in aquaculture and exploitation, in order to strictly manage the traceability process.

Also at the meeting, representatives of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) are closely coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and experts to review and complete reports related to 12 fishing occupations that are not recognized as equivalent by the United States to send back to the United States; propose parallel implementation of the work of issuing export certificates (COI) for 14 fishing occupations that are determined to be equivalent by the United States, ensuring that exploited aquatic products are used for export processing and meet the legal requirements of the United States.

Comprehensive, accurate and transparent testing

Concluding the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the national peak month against IUU fishing has ended, but the goal set after more than 8 years of removing the "IUU yellow card" of the European Commission (EC) has not yet been achieved, requiring more drastic action in the coming time.

From now until December 15 is an important deadline to complete tasks and resolve outstanding issues related to IUU prevention and control.

Relevant ministries and sectors continue to carefully examine and evaluate data on fishing vessels violating regulations, especially those caught for illegal fishing and encroachment into other countries' territorial waters; clearly explain the difference between the data provided by Vietnam and the data of the EC, and clarify objective reasons.

Local authorities are responsible for handling administrative and criminal violations in cases of fishing vessels being detained abroad. Agencies must provide invoices, records of property confiscation, revoked licenses and supporting photos to prove that the handling has been fully carried out.

Cases that cannot be handled due to the expiration of the statute of limitations or special circumstances need to be clearly explained. The goal is to handle 100% of violations, while being open and transparent to the EC and the international community. Accordingly, comprehensive inspections must be conducted, not only on paper but also on the field, evaluating data on cases that have been handled criminally and administratively, especially the installation and maintenance of VMS connections, the implementation of sanctions, the issuance of certificates of origin, the management of fishing ports, the number of unqualified vessels, ensuring accurate and transparent data.

Regarding VNFishbase, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that this week, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will preside over reviewing, developing and perfecting the Regulations on data exploitation and management, and reviewing and perfecting related processes. In particular, the regulations must clearly define participants, users and responsibilities in each function.

In particular, ship owners and captains are responsible for fishing logs, route tracking and catch declarations. This data will serve the purpose of licensing, certification and related procedures.

The Deputy Prime Minister assigned Viettel and VNPT Groups to coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to review VNFishbase and build a comprehensive national database, including exploitation and farming.

Localities participate in evaluating the operation of VNFishbase, testing and supplementing guidelines for private ports to participate in vessel management and certification; promptly submit to the Government a livelihood project for fisheries transformation, including the application of high technology in offshore aquaculture and the development of services and tourism.

Regarding international standards on the fishing industry, the Deputy Prime Minister asked ministries, sectors and VASEP to continue reviewing and amending the Fisheries Law to ensure harmony with the legal requirements of the United States, the European Union and a number of other countries.

The review must be comprehensive and not omitted, and while waiting for the Fisheries Law to be passed, units need to prepare reports on legal compliance, including issues on protected animal species, 12 fisheries exploitation industries not recognized as equivalent by the United States and 14 industries recognized as equivalent; at the same time, propose to issue a Government Resolution on environmental protection, management of fisheries exploitation industries, ensuring that people's rights and obligations are implemented in accordance with the law and meet international requirements, and definitively resolve issues of legal and technical conflicts with regulations of the United States, the EU and a number of other countries.

Referring to the case of fraud in the origin of raw materials for processing and exporting swordfish in Khanh Hoa, the Deputy Prime Minister requested that this week, Khanh Hoa province clarify and report in detail the form of punishment, the cause of fraud, and specific figures.
According to VNA

Complete 101/101 missions

Comprehensive, accurate and transparent testing

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