Online conference with 28 coastal provinces and cities on combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

Online conference with 28 coastal provinces and cities on combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

(Haiphong.gov.vn) - On the afternoon of August 28, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired an online conference with 28 coastal provinces and cities on combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Attending the conference at the Hai Phong city bridge were Chairman of the City People's Committee Nguyen Van Tung; Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Hoang Minh Cuong; and representatives of leaders of relevant departments, branches, units and localities.

Delegates attending the Conference at the Hai Phong city bridge.

Hai Phong city leaders attended the conference.

After nearly 07 years (since October 23, 2017) of combating IUU fishing, removing the "Yellow Card" warning of the European Commission (EC), implementing Directive No. 32-CT/TW dated April 10, 2024 of the Secretariat, Resolution No. 52/NQ-CP dated April 22, 2024 of the Government, instructions of the Prime Minister, Head of the National Steering Committee on IUU; through 04 inspections by the EC, up to now, the situation of combating IUU fishing has achieved some results in: Completing the legal framework; installing voyage monitoring equipment (VMS); Building a national fisheries database (VNFishbase), controlling imported aquatic products according to the provisions of the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), law enforcement, and sanctions for IUU fishing violations have been strengthened more than before... The EC highly appreciates Vietnam's political determination, especially the attention and strong direction of the Central level. However, the direction and implementation at the local level still have many limitations, leading to some tasks changing very slowly, not meeting the requirements according to the EC's recommendations at the 4th inspection in October 2023.

Up to now, the total number of fishing vessels nationwide is 85,495; of which 70,910 have been registered. The license quota for offshore areas for the period 2024 - 2029 has been announced as 29,552 licenses. The number of fishing vessels from 15 or more that have installed voyage monitoring equipment (VMS) has reached 98.5% (28,512/28,953 fishing vessels), marking the fishing vessel rate reaching 98%. For fishing vessels that do not meet the operating conditions, fishing vessels at high risk of violating IUU fishing have been listed, monitored and managed by localities. The work of monitoring and supervising fishing vessel activities at sea through the fishing vessel monitoring system, entering and leaving ports, and entering and leaving ports in some localities has been seriously and fully implemented according to regulations. Some fishing ports in localities such as Khanh Hoa (Hon Ro Fishing Port), Binh Dinh (Quy Nhon Fishing Port), Kien Giang (Tac Cau Fishing Port), Binh Thuan (Phan Thiet Fishing Port), Tien Giang (My Tho Port) ... have organized and implemented relatively well the work of monitoring and controlling fishing vessels entering and leaving the port, monitoring the volume of aquatic products loaded and unloaded through the port. However, in general, the control of fishing vessels entering and leaving the port, monitoring the volume of aquatic products exploited in the whole province has only reached about 50% as prescribed.

In Hai Phong, the total number of fishing vessels with the longest length of 06m or more is 951, of which 920 fishing vessels have been registered (fishery exploitation: 917 vessels, aquaculture activities: 03 vessels) updated on the VnFishbase system), including: vessels with the longest length of 6m: -

The total number of fishing vessels in the "03 no" category in the city is 143. As of August 26, 2024, after reviewing 06 local vessels that reported that they did not participate in fishing activities (Thuy Nguyen: 05, Tien Lang: 01), 01 vessel was registered and restored on the system, leaving 136 vessels. 116 fishing vessels have been registered and granted fishing licenses. Thus, the rate of fishing vessels in the "03 no" category in the city that have been registered to date has reached 116/136 (85.29%).

Concluding the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh pointed out the responsibilities of agencies and localities for allowing fishing vessels and fishermen to violate regulations on illegal fishing; the role and responsibility of leaders in law enforcement management for violations to occur. To remove the "yellow card" after the EC's inspection team's 5th working session, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested ministries, branches, units and localities to investigate, prosecute and strictly try 100% of violations related to fishing vessels illegally exploiting foreign waters, disconnecting, sending and transporting VMS connection devices; continue to organize specialized working groups to inspect and monitor the implementation of regulations against IUU fishing in localities; Strengthen patrols and control of bordering waters to prevent and promptly handle fishing vessels showing signs of illegal violations of foreign waters, strictly control fishing vessels entering and leaving ports, strictly discipline stations and stations so that fishing vessels that are not qualified to participate in fishing activities...

Source: https://haiphong.gov.vn/tin-tuc-su-kien/hoi-nghi-truc-tuyen-voi-28-tinh-thanh-pho-ven-bien-ve-chong-khai-thac-hai-san-bat-hop-phap-khong-705892