Removing the yellow card against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a crucial and urgent task for Vietnam. In preparation for the 5th EC inspection visit, scheduled for the end of the second quarter of 2025, coastal localities, including Quang Ninh, are aggressively reviewing and monitoring fishing fleets and tracing the origin of harvested seafood.
Cai Rong fishing port (Van Don district) is the only fishing port in the province with a complete fisheries control system. Currently, all fishing vessels entering and leaving the port must follow a declaration process and present relevant administrative documents. This ensures that specialized forces control all vessel records, monitor the volume of harvested and unloaded seafood at the port, and promptly address any issues to ensure compliance with the law.
Mr. Nguyen Van Do (owner of the fishing vessel QN-90618.TS, Vice Chairman of the Van Don District Fishermen's Union) said: The union has 21 fishing vessels with a length of 15 meters or more. Before each fishing trip, the union educates its members about fishing in the permitted areas and absolutely avoiding violations of foreign waters. In addition, the union strictly adheres to administrative procedures when docking and leaving ports, especially submitting the fishing logbook on the same day upon returning to port.
In February 2025, the Provincial Fisheries Inspection, Monitoring, and Control Representative Office conducted direct awareness campaigns for 45 boat owners/captains; distributed 27 leaflets and promotional materials; and maintained the broadcasting of news bulletins on 14 illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities.
Mr. Dang Ngoc Thiet (Port Manager of Cai Rong Port, Van Don District) stated: The Port Management Board has actively coordinated with border guards, water traffic police, and traffic authorities to strictly inspect vessels, prohibiting illegal fishing practices (using "three no's" and "no fishing zones"), and has organized the signing of commitments to warn vessels about not fishing outside designated zones, especially in foreign waters. At the same time, Cai Rong Port has also arranged for vessels to dock and unload harvested seafood in a convenient and safe manner, and closely monitors the quantity of seafood unloaded at the port to issue receipts for the unloaded seafood.
Continuing to implement the Government 's directives to effectively combat IUU fishing, Quang Ninh province has instructed coastal localities to strictly control fishing vessels departing from and arriving at ports at designated control points. They are also resolutely prohibiting fishing activities at sea that do not comply with regulations, especially ensuring that vessel tracking devices are in working order before allowing vessels to depart. Functional forces are conducting inspections of fishing vessels and seafood catches at established checkpoints and verifying and handling 100% of IUU fishing activities.
In 2024, the entire province detected and penalized 632 violations in the field of fisheries exploitation and protection, imposing fines totaling nearly 8 billion VND. The violations mainly included: operating without a fishing license; violating prohibited areas and fishing gear; failing to record and submit fishing logs and reports; and violating regulations by disconnecting or failing to maintain vessel tracking and communication equipment, all of which were severely punished. Notably, in 2024, the province detected and is currently prosecuting four criminal cases related to the crime of destroying fisheries resources.
In 2025, agencies and localities in the province will continue to organize a concentrated campaign to handle violations in the field of exploitation and protection of aquatic resources, focusing on decisively dealing with "2-no" and "3-no" fishing vessels, strictly handling cases of fishing vessels violating illegal fishing regulations, inspecting, verifying, and strictly handling fishing vessels that lose connection signals offshore for more than 6 hours or more than 10 days, fishing vessels crossing maritime boundaries, and fishing vessels showing signs of violating foreign waters...
Mr. Phan Thanh Nghi, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, said: Quang Ninh province is focusing on completing the strict implementation of IUU regulations. Registration is required for 100% of vessels measuring 6 meters or more, and statistics are maintained for vessels measuring 6 meters or less. Vessels operating in inshore and offshore areas will be strictly managed, ensuring close monitoring of the offshore fleet through the VPS positioning system. The unit will tighten management to ensure the fleet absolutely does not violate fishing zones, especially maritime boundaries.
Along with other coastal localities nationwide, Quang Ninh province is making efforts to implement various solutions and resolutely combat illegal fishing, thereby joining the rest of the country in quickly lifting the European Commission's yellow card on Vietnamese seafood.
Hai Ha
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