The Government Inspectorate selects a number of localities to inspect IUU handling.

The Government Inspectorate is assigned to review all legal documents, conduct local inspections and thoroughly handle remaining IUU fishing violations.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha instructed the Government Inspectorate to review all legal instruments and sanctions for handling administrative violations related to IUU (Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated) fishing. (Photo: VGP)

On November 18th, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, Deputy Head of the National Steering Committee on Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, chaired the 22nd meeting of the Steering Committee, connecting online with 21 coastal provinces and cities.

At the meeting, a representative from the Ministry of Public Security stated that the Ministry had directed the police forces in 21 coastal localities to update information on fishing vessels and their owners into the national population database (VNeID), while also checking the security and safety of the data system.

However, the integration between the fishing vessel management system of the Ministry of National Defence, the Fisheries and Fisheries Inspection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) and VNeID is not yet complete due to not fully meeting technical standards and information security requirements.

At the meeting, leaders from An Giang and Nghe An provinces reported on the handling of fishing vessels that violated VMS connectivity and encroached on foreign waters; proposed a mechanism to ensure timely transmission of information and data from the central government to local authorities, serving the management and handling of violations by fishing vessels 24 meters or longer; and reviewed the implementation of periodic reporting on IUU (Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated) fishing to the National Steering Committee.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to update regulations on the decentralization of management of fishing vessels 24 meters or longer from the central to local levels, especially regarding the authority to impose administrative penalties, and the monitoring and management of data, when amending and supplementing Decree No. 37/2024/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 26/2019/ND-CP detailing a number of articles and measures for the implementation of the Fisheries Law.

The scene at the meeting. Photo: VGP

Regarding the national fisheries database, the Deputy Prime Minister directed the urgent completion of the project to build a synchronized, unified, interconnected, and shared national fisheries data system before December 31st, ensuring that the data is "accurate, complete, clean, and active" and fully serves the management, traceability, and monitoring of fishing vessels, with "clear access rights for each entity, including citizens, to access and declare."

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is tasked with coordinating with technical experts to develop the architecture, functions, and access control of the system.

The Deputy Prime Minister instructed the Government Inspectorate to review all legal instruments and sanctions for handling administrative violations related to IUU fishing , and to select a number of localities for inspection and guidance to resolve 100% of outstanding cases.

Localities are required to review fishing vessels, ensure each vessel has its own data set, control vessels that are eligible to operate, revoke expired or unqualified vessel licenses, and implement measures to support fishermen.

Regarding port management, localities coordinate with the Ministry of National Defense and the Border Guard to identify eligible fishing ports, support private fishing ports in completing procedures, and aim towards automating the registration and certification process for harvested seafood.

In the long term, ministries, sectors, and localities need to assess livelihood transformation for fishermen, develop sustainable fisheries policies, link rational exploitation with natural supply capacity, and promote high-tech offshore aquaculture and cooperation in fisheries exploitation in international waters.

Source: https://laodong.vn/thoi-su/thanh-tra-chinh-phu-lua-chon-mot-so-dia-phuong-de-kiem-tra-xu-ly-iuu-1611145.ldo