Determined to regain the IUU "green card"

With the drastic, regular and continuous direction, in recent times, the shortcomings in fishing activities that the European Commission (EC) pointed out in previous inspections have been gradually overcome and put into practice by the province. Although there are still many limitations, fishermen's awareness of law enforcement at sea has gradually become effective, and the management of fishing fleets as well as fishing activities, traceability... according to the EC's recommendations are gradually coming into a framework.

No "3 no" fishing boats

At a recent meeting of the Provincial Steering Committee against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, this issue was discussed quite intensely by the agricultural sector and members of the steering committee, hoping to find a fundamental solution so that the number of "3 no" vessels that have been screened, counted, and temporarily registered will not increase. Mr. Huynh Quang Huy - Head of the Fisheries Sub-Department said: "The whole province currently has 8,450 fishing vessels with a length of 6m or more. The number of "3 no" fishing vessels that have been reviewed and recorded is 2,515. However, this figure increased by 647 compared to the review time in December 2023 (1,868 vessels) and increased by 135 compared to the statistics and temporary registration time in March 2024 (2,380 vessels). This increase is due to the fact that the management of fishing vessels in localities is not strict, and the "3 no" fishing vessels in the area have not been managed. In March 2024, the Fisheries Sub-Department coordinated with localities to establish teams to review for the last time, temporarily register and request signatures to confirm the data at that time. Although Binh Thuan is one of the pioneering provinces to review and grant temporary registration for "3 no" vessels, However, if localities do not monitor, manage, and do not know the exact number of ships, it will be very difficult for the authorities to manage the fleet.

Localities need to strictly manage the number of "3-no" ships. (Photo: N. Lan)

Regarding this issue, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Hong Hai strongly directed: "The Chairman of the People's Committee of districts, towns and cities will be responsible if there are more "3-no" ships and require the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to complete the review and registration of "3-no" ships according to the provisions of Circular No. 06/2024/TT-BNNPTNT of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in September 2024".

Inspection team of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development inspects IUU work at fishing ports.

Focus on removing the "yellow card"

It is known that in recent times, functional departments, branches and People's Committees of coastal districts, towns and cities have focused resources, synchronously implemented tasks and solutions to urgently overcome shortcomings and limitations in the work of combating IUU fishing according to the EC's recommendations. In particular, focusing on implementing key tasks such as monitoring and controlling high-risk fishing vessels, promptly preventing fishing vessels from violating foreign waters; managing fleets, monitoring and controlling fishing vessel activities; controlling and preventing IUU fishing at ports, confirming, certifying and tracing the origin of exploited aquatic products; and strengthen law enforcement, handling violations... Thanks to that, apart from the case of 1 fishing boat/7 workers (Ham Tan district) violating and being arrested by Malaysia in early 2023 (the Provincial People's Committee issued a decision to administratively fine the ship owner with an amount of 900 million VND), up to now, there have been no more cases of the province violating foreign waters being arrested. However, when the inspection team of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development came to inspect the province's anti-IUU fishing work, they pointed out a number of limitations that Binh Thuan needs to pay attention to overcome such as: The situation of fishing boats losing connection at sea is common, but the handling and punishment are not strict; the submission of fishing logs or monitoring of output at fishing ports is still very limited, and there has been no punishment for fishing boats that exploit in the wrong areas, typically trawlers...

Binh Thuan is concentrating its efforts to join the whole country in the determination to regain the IUU "green card".

Therefore, at the meeting of the Provincial IUU Steering Committee, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, based on the conclusion of the Inspection Team of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, to issue a plan with specific solutions to overcome each task, and complete it early in August. In particular, he emphasized that from now until October 2024, the situation of fishing vessels and fishermen encroaching on foreign waters must be put to an end. Localities must have a firm grasp of the area, manage high-risk fleets, handle and punish strictly, without prohibited areas. The agricultural sector needs to coordinate with the police force to have more effective reminder and deterrence measures. Particularly for fishing vessels that lose VMS connection for 6 hours/10 days continuously and regularly, this group of vessels should be put in the high-risk group, strengthen supervision and transfer to the police force for monitoring...

This coming October is the inspection period that will determine whether or not the "yellow card" for Vietnamese seafood can be removed, so ministries, branches, the Central Government and coastal localities are making efforts to control fishing activities, contributing to the whole country's determination to regain the "green card" IUU. With the goal of developing sustainable fisheries in the spirit of Directive No. 32-CT/TW dated April 10, 2024 of the Secretariat on strengthening the Party's leadership in combating IUU fishing and sustainable development of the fisheries industry.

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/tuyen-truyen-bien-va-hai-dao-quyet-tam-gianh-lai-the-xanh-iuu-119567.html