Vinh Long Marine Economy: Towards Transparency and Sustainable Development

After the merger, Vinh Long has formed a powerful maritime economic entity in the Mekong Delta, with a long coastline and a large-scale fishing fleet. With this new potential, the responsibility in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing becomes more urgent than ever, laying the foundation for a transparent and sustainable maritime economy.

The Border Guard force of Vinh Long province actively propagates IUU to vehicle owners and fishermen in Dong Hai commune.

Potential challenges

According to the latest statistics, Vinh Long province currently has about 4,628 fishing vessels (from 6-12m: 1,667 vessels; 12-15m: 706 vessels; over 15m: 2,255 vessels); of which, the majority have been put under strict management, fully complying with regulations on registration, inspection and fishing licenses.

Notably, the rate of fishing vessels with a length of 15m or more installing and maintaining the operation of the voyage monitoring device (VMS) has reached 99% (2,235/2,255 vessels). This is considered an important step forward in the effort to modernize and make transparent the local fishing activities, and is also clear evidence of the ability to trace the origin and monitor the voyage of fishing vessels - one of the key technical requirements set by the EC in the process of removing the "yellow card" for Vietnamese seafood.

In recent times, with the consensus and synchronous implementation of solutions from the central to local levels, the province's fisheries management has had many positive changes, increasingly becoming more systematic. The functional forces, especially the provincial Border Guard force, have directed border posts and border guard squadrons to strengthen patrols, control and supervision of fishing vessels exploiting aquatic and marine products in the province's waters, outside the province and offshore, contributing to improving the effectiveness of state management of fisheries.

Colonel Nguyen Duy Thanh - Political Commissar of Vinh Long Provincial Border Guard propagated IUU to more than 150 vehicle owners and fishermen of Long Vinh commune.

The greatest effort, and also a remarkable achievement, from 2024 to now, there have been no cases of fishing vessels in Vinh Long province (based on the two provinces of Ben Tre and Tra Vinh) violating foreign waters. The fact that there are no more fishing vessels violating foreign waters not only demonstrates the seriousness and determination in the management, inspection and supervision of the functional forces but also shows a strong change in the awareness and actions of thousands of fishermen in Vinh Long province. People increasingly understand the importance of complying with the law and sustainably exploiting aquatic resources, contributing to the whole country towards the goal of removing the EC's "yellow card" as soon as possible.

Although fisheries management in Vinh Long has achieved many positive results, with the rate of fishing vessels installing VMS equipment reaching 99%, the situation of losing connection at sea still occurs. According to the functional sector, most cases of signal loss originate from technical reasons, weather conditions or equipment failure. However, there are still some ship owners who intentionally disconnect, especially when operating in offshore areas, to avoid being monitored. This poses many risks, because according to EC regulations, any incident of losing VMS signal, regardless of objective or subjective reasons, is considered a sign of suspected IUU fishing.

In this situation, the provincial authorities and the provincial Border Guard have increased monitoring and early warning, and requested ship owners to maintain stable equipment operation, regularly check and not arbitrarily disconnect. This is one of the important measures to ensure transparency in exploitation and towards the goal of removing the EC “yellow card”.

4 groups of solutions for the coming time

Faced with the above challenges, to overcome the shortcomings and move towards effective fisheries management to meet the requirements in the current period, especially the prevention of IUU fishing and sustainable development of the fisheries industry, Vinh Long needs to synchronously deploy drastic and practical solutions, specifically:

Officers and soldiers of the Vinh Long Provincial Border Guard coordinated with the Dinh An Fishing Port Management Board to promote IUU, present flags and photos of Uncle Ho to accompany fishermen going offshore at Dinh An Fishing Port (Dai An commune).

Complete the policy of job conversion and dismantling fishing vessels that are no longer needed for exploitation. Urgently issue a policy to support fishermen who own fishing vessels that are no longer needed for exploitation or are not qualified to continue fishing activities, to convert their jobs or dismantle their fishing vessels. This helps to avoid the prolonged ineffectiveness of the fleet, which not only wastes resources but also poses a risk of IUU violations. From there, systematically carry out the procedures for dismantling or supporting job conversion in conjunction with alternative livelihood support programs for fishermen such as: training in new occupations, supporting capital for fishing logistics services, and aquaculture. This not only helps to change the structure of the fleet but also improves the quality of exploitation and economic efficiency, in line with the goal of sustainable development of the fisheries sector.

Review and clean fishing fleet data on the national fisheries database. Assign each local fisheries officer to be responsible for monitoring and supervising each fishing vessel: updating records, vessel status, fishing license, registration, VMS equipment. This helps ensure good implementation of registration, registration, and fishing license procedures.

Strengthen inter-sectoral and inter-local coordination in combating IUU fishing. Create synchronization among many Border Guard forces, Department of Agriculture and Environment, local authorities and relevant functional forces in exchanging data on VMS, high-risk fishing vessels, organizing joint patrols in the province's waters, in order to promptly detect and prevent fishing vessels that are not qualified to participate in aquatic and marine exploitation, or violate IUU fishing, contributing to creating a "double control loop" in inspection and handling of violations.

Communication, raising awareness of the fishing community and the role of local authorities. Propaganda work needs to be widely organized in coastal areas, at fishing ports, through Zalo groups or local information channels to regularly update new announcements and regulations on combating IUU fishing; localities with fishing vessels need to implement the motto "each cadre and party member is in charge of a group of fishing vessels or fishermen at high risk" to strengthen monitoring, mobilization, and handling from shore and at sea; to promptly detect signs of VMS disconnection, violations of illegal fishing, exploitation of foreign waters, thereby proactively preventing violations before they occur. At the same time, it is important to emphasize to vehicle owners and fishermen that the consequences of violating anti-IUU fishing not only affect individuals but also affect the reputation of local and national fisheries and the export capacity of the seafood industry.

With the synchronous and drastic implementation of the above solutions, Vinh Long province is facing a golden opportunity to enter a period of strong transformation, affirming its position in fisheries management and developing the local marine economy towards a clean, transparent and sustainable aquatic and seafood ecosystem - where the local "blue sea" honor is not only preserved but also increasingly enhanced.

Article and photos: SA RAY - XUAN LOC

Source: https://baovinhlong.com.vn/tin-moi/202511/kinh-te-bien-vinh-long-huong-den-minh-bach-va-phat-trien-ben-vung-f7d3881/