Urgently report the results of inspection and verification of fishing vessels losing VMS connection in April 2025

At the meeting, Mr. Nguyen Van Chien - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment quickly reported on the results of the implementation of the work to combat IUU fishing in the province. Accordingly, the management, monitoring and control of high-risk fishing vessels have been regularly and seriously implemented, thanks to which from 2023 to now, the whole province has not had any cases of fishing vessels violating foreign waters.

Mr. Nguyen Van Chien - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment reported at the meeting.

The work of registration, inspection, and licensing of fishing activities has been carried out with great efforts. As of April 15, 2025, the whole province had 8,452 fishing vessels registered and updated on the national database VNFishbase; 7,677 fishing vessels were granted fishing licenses (reaching 90.74%); 3,477/4,012 fishing vessels were inspected (reaching 90.74%); 6,560 vessels were granted food safety certificates/commitments (reaching 77.62%). In addition, the management and operation of the journey monitoring system was carried out seriously, promptly detecting fishing vessels that lost connection for handling according to procedures and regulations. Thereby, VMS has been verified and handled in the localities, in which Tuy Phong, Phu Quy, and Phan Thiet have seriously verified 100% of cases of fishing vessels losing connection to VMS. The working group in La Gi town alone verified only 33.4% of cases of fishing boats losing connection for more than 6 hours, and 44.2% of cases of fishing boats losing connection for more than 10 days.

Overview of the meeting.

In addition, the management of fleets, control of fishing vessels entering and leaving ports, and tracing the origin of aquatic products have been seriously implemented; law enforcement and handling of violations continue to be strengthened. Since the beginning of the year, 85 administrative violations have been punished/VND 589.25 million according to the provisions of Decree 38/2024/ND-CP.

At the meeting, local leaders and members of the Steering Committee discussed and analyzed in depth the shortcomings and limitations that have been slowly overcome, such as: The number of fishing vessels that have registered but have not yet been granted/re-granted fishing licenses is still high. Currently, the whole province has 750 fishing vessels that have not completed the procedures for granting/re-granting fishing licenses (269 vessels sold outside the province with unidentified owners, 118 vessels are on shore, damaged, 95 vessels are stuck in procedures (inheritance), 268 vessels have owners who are slow to do so).

The number of fishing vessels that have registered but have not yet been granted/re-granted fishing licenses is still large.

In particular, the situation of fishing vessels violating regulations on IUU fishing, especially fishing vessels not docking at the port to unload products, not notifying 1 hour in advance when entering or leaving the port, not recording/submitting fishing logs to the fishing port organization, losing VMS connection at sea without reporting to the shore station... is still common, but detection and handling are still very limited. The verification and handling of fishing vessels losing VMS connection, exceeding the permitted boundaries at sea and completing verification and handling records are not in accordance with regulations.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Hong Hai directed at the meeting.

Concluding the meeting, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Hong Hai acknowledged the efforts of localities, departments and branches with the results achieved in the fight against IUU fishing in recent times. At the same time, he emphasized that fighting against IUU fishing is a very important task that must be maintained regularly and seriously implemented.

Despite monitoring efforts, the situation of fishing vessels losing VMS connection at sea still exists, so the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested the Department of Agriculture and Environment to conclude in April 2025 the results of inspection and verification of fishing vessels losing VMS connection, including proposing a verification process that is accurate and strict; there should be specific application forms to guide localities in unified implementation. At the same time, when working with network operators on implementing the policy of supporting subscription fees for VMS support services, Mr. Nguyen Hong Hai requested that network operators coordinate in implementing the verification procedure for fishing vessels losing VMS connection, to form this process quickly, accurately and effectively.

Require not to leave port if fishing license procedures have not been completed.

In addition, the Department of Fisheries and Islands is required to re-evaluate the number of 750 vessels that have not yet completed the procedures for granting fishing licenses, and to clarify and determine the location of the vessels in detail and specifically. For the group of vessels that have been mobilized many times but are still slow to complete the procedures, the list must be immediately transferred to the Provincial Border Guard Command for control and not allowed to leave port. In addition, the Provincial Police Department is required to support and direct local police to monitor the situation to verify accurately. At the same time, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested that on the list of high-risk vessels, localities be required to review and filter the list when there are changes; consolidate local teams and groups that monitor high-risk fishing vessels to increase responsibility and manage this group of vessels...

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/khan-truong-bao-cao-ket-qua-kiem-tra-xac-minh-tau-ca-mat-ket-noi-vms-trong-thang-4-2025-129663.html