17th Session on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing

(gialai.gov.vn) - On the evening of October 14, in Hanoi, the National Steering Committee on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU) held its 17th meeting. Comrade Tran Hong Ha - Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister chaired the meeting. The meeting was held directly at the Government headquarters and connected online to 21 bridges in coastal provinces and cities. Attending the Gia Lai province bridge were comrades: Pham Anh Tuan - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Duong Mah Tiep - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee. Together with representatives of the provincial departments and branches.

According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment , from October 7 to 14, the number of licensed fishing vessels increased by 1,632 (up 19.3%), and 254 vessels were deregistered. Currently, there are 7,130 fishing vessels that are not qualified to operate, down 1,888 (equivalent to 20.93%).

There are currently 80 fishing ports in operation nationwide, of which 70 ports allow offshore fishing vessels to dock and 51 ports are qualified to confirm the origin of exploited aquatic products. Compared to last week, the number of fishing vessels entering and leaving ports on the electronic tracking system (eCDT) increased by 2,462 departures and 412 arrivals. During the week, units completed entry and exit procedures for 14,812 vessels of 11,540 fishing vessels.

Delegates attending the meeting at the Gia Lai province bridge point

In Gia Lai province, as of October 13, there were 5,777 fishing vessels registered for operation, a decrease of 5 vessels compared to the previous week. The province has completed 100% of the verification and digitization of fishing vessel data and database connection between the Vnfishbase system and the National Population Database (VNeID). Currently, 100% of fishing vessels with a length of 15 meters or more in the province have been installed with voyage monitoring devices (VMS). Border guards, fisheries surveillance forces and fishing port management boards regularly coordinate to inspect and strictly control the activities of fishing vessels, not allowing unqualified vessels to leave port; at the same time, all fishing vessels of 15 meters or more must have a stable VMS signal before leaving port. Last week, at the province's fishing ports, 667 vessels arrived at ports and 402 vessels left ports. There are 05 ships that lost connection to the journey monitoring signal for more than 6 hours.

At the meeting, leaders of ministries, branches and localities reported on the situation and results of implementing tasks and solutions to prevent and combat IUU fishing after the 16th Session of the IUU Steering Committee (October 7); results of preventing and handling fishing vessels and fishermen who violated... At the same time, solutions were proposed to achieve high results in the fight against IUU fishing in the coming time.

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasized the goal of removing the EC's "yellow card" warning by 2025. The Deputy Prime Minister requested ministries, departments, branches, localities, and functional forces, especially leaders, to promote the highest sense of responsibility in declaring war on IUU violations. Every week, ministries, branches, and localities must review the results of anti-IUU fishing tasks to continue handling them effectively. Urgently review all fishing vessels, update complete data, clearly classify operating status, and resolutely eliminate unqualified vessels. Strengthen propaganda to raise awareness among fishermen. Along with that, it is necessary to seriously implement the Prime Minister's direction at the Steering Committee meetings.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has assigned specific tasks to central ministries and branches to improve the effectiveness of the fight against IUU fishing. At the same time, he requested localities to urgently review fishing ports invested by the State and private sector, and if qualified, announce them for fishing vessels to enter and exit the port; review and immediately report any difficulties and problems related to the fight against IUU fishing.

Source: https://gialai.gov.vn/tin-tuc/hoat-dong-cua-lanh-dao/phien-hop-thu-17-ban-chi-dao-quoc-gia-ve-chong-khai-thiac-hai-san-bat-hop-phap-khong-bao-cao-va-khong-theo-quy-dinh-iuu-.html