Inspection and handling of IUU fishing violations must be substantial, transparent, and have clear evidence.

(Chinhphu.vn) - On the morning of December 2, 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.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, Deputy Head of the National Steering Committee on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, chairs the 24th meeting of the Steering Committee - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

As of November 29, ministries, branches and localities have completed 101/101 tasks assigned by the Prime Minister.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha assessed that the national peak month on combating 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 the fact that the authorities have difficulty controlling activities in the vast ocean space, the Deputy Prime Minister proposed to change the way of monitoring fishing vessel activities, focusing on onshore control and applying digital technology and telecommunications. The Deputy Prime Minister requested to persistently build and complete the national fisheries database, considering this a "must-be-done solution" to comprehensively monitor fishing vessels and trace the origin of exploited aquatic products.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, when the data system is complete, Vietnam can directly exchange with the EC, providing full information on violating vessels, vessels lying on shore, origin of aquatic products, licensing process, progress of handling violations, etc.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested ministries, branches and localities to report on the progress of VNFishbase construction. During the week, working groups will go to localities to inspect the situation, including: Border Guards, fishing ports, Fisheries Departments and fishing vessel management, to assess "whether the changes are real or just on paper".

Regarding administrative sanctions in the fisheries sector, the Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to respond in writing to the EC, clarifying the implementation of the new legal framework after amending Decrees 37/2024/ND-CP and 38/2024/ND-CP. At the same time, many working groups need to be established to inspect localities on existing problems in the work of preventing and combating IUU fishing, including: the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment; the Ministry of Public Security; the Government Inspectorate; the Ministry of National Defense, etc.

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized, "The exchange with the EC must be based on documents, data, and actual results."

"100% of violations" have been handled

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. Localities have handled "100% of violations", with a total of more than 4,037 cases being punished, with fines totaling about VND162 billion. Authorities have also 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.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang speaks - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

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 shipments exported to the EU that were warned, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said that these shipments were related to two businesses in Khanh Hoa. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has directed the review of all documents, clarified the suspicion of fraud, and coordinated with the Ministry of Finance to compare input and output data of the supply chain to serve the handling according to regulations.

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien affirmed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is completing all documents and providing data to serve the EC delegation during the inspection process. Along with that, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is 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.

Once again, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasized that the inspection and handling of violations in fisheries management must be substantial, transparent and have clear evidence, "what content to check, how, with video recordings, photos, records, minutes, payment receipts, revoked licenses, confiscated assets", avoiding the situation of only reporting in form; actual results, with records, minutes, and images, must ensure reliability and demonstrate that Vietnam is seriously implementing measures to prevent and combat IUU fishing.

Referring to the case of fraud in the origin of processed seafood materials for export of swordfish in Khanh Hoa, the Deputy Prime Minister requested Khanh Hoa province to take responsibility, use all measures (customs, inspection, investigation...) to clarify and report in detail the form of punishment, the cause of fraud, and specific figures this week. "If there are violations, they must be handled to the end. If there are signs of criminal offenses, they must be transferred to criminal proceedings and the information must be made public in newspapers and radio."

Representative of the Military Industry and Telecommunications Group (Viettel) reports - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

Reporting to the Deputy Prime Minister on the progress of implementing tasks related to VNFishbase, a representative of the Military Industry and Telecommunications Group (Viettel) said that fishing vessels are fully updated with information, including data on ship owners, crew members, and entry and exit processes, 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 procedures related to construction, registration, inspection, conversion, transfer and technical supervision are developed and continuously updated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to ensure "correct, sufficient, clean and live" data.

Viettel representative emphasized the need to connect the voyage monitoring system (VMS) and auxiliary subsystems, which will help manage fishing vessels, monitor fishing activities and handle violations effectively, transparently and synchronously; at the same time, proposed the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to develop a comprehensive project on digital transformation management in fishing and aquaculture, in order to strictly manage the traceability process.

Viettel representative affirmed that technology enterprises are ready to support the implementation of the system, ensuring integrated, transparent and convenient data for management, improving administrative procedures, monitoring ships and crews when at sea, and can even expand to management and traceability of aquatic products raised at sea.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that "such an integrated, interconnected and multi-purpose data set will help facilitate management, improve and make administrative procedures transparent. Information on vessels can be retrieved automatically, even after a few days at sea, thereby improving the effectiveness of monitoring and management; as well as convincing international partners about Vietnam's work in preventing and combating IUU fishing.

Also at the meeting, a representative of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) reported that the United States had refused to recognize the equivalent of 12 Vietnamese seafood exploitation occupations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), along with trade barriers and technical barriers to Vietnamese seafood and export goods.

Representative of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) reports - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

Currently, VASEP is closely coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and experts to review and complete the report related to 12 fishing occupations that are not recognized as equivalent by the United States to send back to the United States.

At the same time, VASEP also proposed to implement the work of issuing certificates of export (COI) in parallel for 14 fisheries exploitation occupations identified by the United States as equivalent, ensuring that exploited aquatic products are used for export processing and meet the legal requirements of the United States.

The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the completion of the legal basis and the implementation of technical measures in monitoring fishing activities must be clear, ensuring enforcement, and in harmony with the requirements of the United States and the EC. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment needs to strengthen direct coordination with agencies, associations and experts when conducting dialogues and working with the EC and the United States.

Towards building a national database covering both exploitation and aquaculture

Concluding the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that 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, clarifying objective reasons, for example, vessels operating in overlapping and disputed waters cannot be considered violations.

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that from now until December 15 is an important deadline to complete tasks and resolve outstanding issues related to IUU prevention and control - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

Local authorities are responsible for handling administrative violations, as well as criminal cases of fishing vessels detained abroad. At the same time, agencies must provide invoices, records of confiscation of assets, revoked licenses and supporting images 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 must also be clearly explained. The goal is to handle 100% of violations, while being open and transparent to the EC and the international community.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested a comprehensive inspection, not only on paper but also on the field, evaluating data on cases that have been handled criminally and administratively. In particular, it is necessary to carefully check the installation and maintenance of VMS connections, the implementation of administrative procedures related to sanctions, issuance of certificates of origin, management of fishing ports, the number of unqualified vessels, ensuring accurate and transparent data...

Regarding VNFishbase, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that when inspecting facilities, it is necessary to clearly determine whether the system is operating as reported, described as "connected, integrated, multi-purpose, aiming at the standards of correct, sufficient, clean, and alive". If there are any shortcomings, this week, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will preside over reviewing, developing, and perfecting the Regulations on exploitation and data management, reviewing and perfecting related processes. In particular, the regulations must clearly define who is allowed to participate, who is allowed to use which functions, and the responsibilities of each user. In particular, ship owners and captains must be responsible for fishing logs, monitoring routes and declaring catches.

This data will be used for licensing, certification and related procedures. "This is a review, not a rebuilding of the entire system. We will review as we go," the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.

Delegates attending the meeting - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

At the same time, Viettel and VNPT coordinated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to review VNFishbase and build a comprehensive national database, including exploitation and farming.

For localities, the Deputy Prime Minister requested to evaluate the effectiveness of VNFishbase operation, test and supplement guidelines for private ports to participate in vessel management and certification. In addition, localities must soon submit to the Government livelihood projects for fisheries transformation, including the application of high technology in offshore aquaculture and the development of services and tourism.

Resolve legal and technical conflicts

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 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 several other countries - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

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.

Regarding coordination in dialogue and working with international partners such as the EC and the United States, the Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice to send officials with legal and foreign language expertise to support the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. Reports and data must be fully prepared, transparent, and ready for testing by the EC.

Minh Khoi

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/kiem-tra-xu-ly-vi-pham-khai-thac-iuu-phai-thuc-chat-minh-bach-co-bang-chung-ro-rang-10225120214221821.htm