The conference was attended by representatives from the following departments and agencies: Agriculture and Environment, Provincial Police, Provincial Border Guard Command, Provincial People's Committee Office, Provincial Fisheries Port Management Board; members of the Provincial IUU Steering Committee, the Task Force for verifying and handling violations of regulations on the operation of vessel monitoring systems (VMS), the inter-agency task force against IUU fishing in the province; and representatives from the communes with fishing vessels operating in the province.
According to a report by the Department of Agriculture and Environment, during its fifth inspection, the European Commission (EC) inspection team identified and pointed out several shortcomings and made recommendations for further improvement in the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Vietnam.
This includes addressing issues such as limited law enforcement capacity at the local level; insufficient leadership, direction, and resource allocation for combating IUU fishing in some localities; inconsistent and unconnected databases for management; limited technology for monitoring and supervising law enforcement; inadequate and weak infrastructure for fishing ports, technology, and resources for managing fisheries activities in localities; limited technological application and innovation skills among fishermen; many small-scale fishing vessels; low compliance awareness among some fishermen; and a lack of alternative livelihoods for fishermen.
To address the shortcomings and limitations in combating IUU fishing in the province, the Provincial People's Committee requests that in the coming period, departments, agencies, and localities continue to strictly implement relevant directives, resolutions, and official dispatches from the Central Government. They should disseminate the regulations of the 2017 Fisheries Law, decrees, guidelines, etc., especially the EC's recommendations regarding the "Yellow Card" warning on Vietnamese fisheries, so that fishermen are fully aware of and comply with the law.
Continue advising the Provincial People's Committee to organize inspection teams to monitor the implementation of IUU fishing prevention and control measures in coastal communes and wards.
The Provincial Border Guard Command directed border guard posts and checkpoints, and Squadron 2 to continue conducting intensive patrols and strict control at river mouths, coastal areas, private fishing ports, traditional fishing wharves, and anchorage areas in the province; absolutely preventing unqualified vessels from operating in the fishing industry, and severely punishing those who intentionally violate regulations; and to continue maintaining the operation of the Verification and Violation Handling Team regarding the operation of VMS equipment systems…
The provincial police, in coordination with relevant agencies and units, will verify and handle administrative violations related to the use of VMS equipment, exceeding permitted fishing boundaries at sea, and illegal fishing in foreign waters. They will assign officers to coordinate the handling of violations and clarify the responsibilities of organizations and individuals involved in violations if there is a delay in detection, handling, or if reporting is incomplete, inaccurate, or if there is cover-up or complicity in the violations.
The Department of Science and Technology continues to contact equipment and network service providers related to VMS devices; VMS installation units are urged to promptly send technical staff to inspect, repair, and maintain equipment for fishermen, and at the same time determine whether the cause of VMS connection loss is due to a service provider error or a user error, in order to take appropriate action against violations.
The People's Committees of communes and wards with fishermen exploiting marine resources in the province are urged to promptly complete the necessary procedures for owners of fishing vessels that do not yet have fishing licenses, whose registration has expired, or whose food safety certificates have expired. They are also directed to instruct the commune/ward police to coordinate with the Border Guard to verify fishing vessels that have lost connection with their VMS equipment. Strict penalties will be imposed on cases of frequently losing VMS signal, or intentionally turning off VMS equipment while operating at sea, especially in border waters.
For fishing vessels not located within the province, it is necessary to verify and clarify their specific mooring locations to implement appropriate management measures. Coordinate with relevant agencies to urgently require vessel owners to complete the decommissioning procedures for fishing vessels that are no longer operational; deregister vessels that have been decommissioned or sold to other provinces; complete the transfer of ownership procedures for vessels bought and sold within the province according to regulations; or coordinate with relevant units to include them in the province's list of missing fishing vessels…
At the conference, representatives from departments, agencies, units, and communes exchanged views on difficulties and obstacles and proposed solutions to effectively implement the work of combating IUU fishing as directed by the Provincial People's Committee.
Speaking at the conference, Comrade Nguyen Sinh Tien, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment and Deputy Head of the Provincial IUU Steering Committee, requested that departments, agencies, and localities strengthen propaganda work and closely coordinate the management of fishing vessels to exploit marine resources in accordance with regulations. He emphasized the need to decisively handle violations, resolutely prevent unqualified fishing vessels from going to sea, and prevent violations of fishing in foreign waters.
Guide fishermen and businesses in declaring when entering and leaving ports, buying and selling raw materials, and issuing traceability documents for harvested seafood on the eCDT system as regulated. Review fishing ports in the area, suspend operations of fishing ports that do not comply with regulations and cause difficulties in managing fishing vessels. Proactively guide and implement provincial regulations on policies supporting the cost of dismantling fishing vessels, converting occupations, and replacing and upgrading VMS equipment for fishing vessel owners in the province.
Source: https://baoninhbinh.org.vn/trien-khai-nhiem-vu-chong-khai-thac-iuu-260508163639587.html
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