The EC "yellow card" must be removed in the 5th inspection.

BTO- This is one of the directions of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the National Online Conference against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing on the afternoon of August 28.

At the Binh Thuan province bridge, there were comrade Nguyen Hoai Anh - Alternate member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Hong Hai; members of the Provincial Steering Committee for Combating IUU Fishing; representatives of leaders of People's Committees of coastal districts, towns and cities; and a number of seafood export enterprises to the European market.

Overview of the meeting.

The Provincial Party Secretary and Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee co-chaired at the Binh Thuan bridge point.

After nearly 7 years of combating IUU fishing, removing the "Yellow Card" warning from the European Commission (EC), through 4 inspections by the EC, the fight against IUU fishing has achieved some results. Accordingly, the legal framework has been completed; vessel monitoring equipment (VMS) has been installed; the National Fisheries Database (VNFishbase) has been built; imported aquatic products have been controlled according to the provisions of the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), law enforcement, and sanctions for IUU fishing violations have been strengthened more than before...

Fishing boats in Binh Thuan. (Photo: N. Lan)

However, the situation of Vietnamese fishing vessels and fishermen violating illegal fishing in foreign waters continues to be complicated and increasing compared to before. The implementation of regulations on registration and licensing of fishing has not yet been completed. The work of monitoring, controlling and supervising fishing vessel activities at sea, entering and leaving ports in many localities has not been strictly implemented according to regulations. The rate of exploited aquatic products monitored for traceability is still very low. Law enforcement and handling of IUU fishing violations are not unified and not strict...

Boats purchasing seafood at sea (photo: N. Lan)

In Binh Thuan, the prevention of fishing vessels violating foreign waters has been gradually controlled. The agencies, units and localities have coordinated to review, count, screen and make a list of 173 fishing vessels at risk (of which 86 fishing vessels are at high risk and are under special surveillance) and advised the Provincial People's Committee to direct agencies, units and localities to assign officers and soldiers to closely monitor and supervise.
Since the beginning of the year, no fishing vessels or fishermen in the province have violated illegal exploitation in foreign waters. In addition, the whole province has installed 100% of fishing vessel monitoring equipment. Statistics on fishing vessels entering and leaving ports, monitoring output at the wharf, and tracing the origin of exploited aquatic products are regularly carried out. In particular, law enforcement and handling of violations have been resolutely carried out by the functional sector. Accumulated from the beginning of 2024 to now, functional agencies and local authorities have sanctioned 306 violations/more than 2.7 billion VND...

At the conference, leaders of relevant ministries, branches, members of the Steering Committee and provinces and cities such as Kien Giang , Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Binh Thuan, Khanh Hoa... discussed and discussed many fundamental solutions to end the situation of fishing vessels violating foreign waters, putting Resolution 04 of the Supreme People's Court into practice as a deterrent. In addition, strictly handle violations of IUU fishing related to sending and transporting equipment to monitor fishing vessels' journeys...

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Hong Hai spoke at the conference.

Speaking at the conference on the management and handling of "3 no" fishing vessels, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Hong Hai said that, implementing the direction of the Head of the National Steering Committee on IUU, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Provincial People's Committee has directed functional agencies and local authorities to resolutely review, count, and make a list of "3 no" fishing vessels in each neighborhood, village, and hamlet; assign local authorities to strictly manage to prevent occurrence; assign functional forces (Border Guard, Fisheries Surveillance) to control and not allow fishing vessels to leave port when they have not completed the required paperwork procedures. Accordingly, the whole province currently has 2,531 "3 no" fishing vessels, and to date has received and processed 1,956 registration dossiers, reaching 77.3%. Currently, the Provincial People's Committee has assigned commune-level authorities to support fishermen in collecting dossiers and submitting them to the Public Administration Center. The leaders of the Provincial People's Committee directly worked with and resolved difficulties and obstacles related to the tax sector's registration procedures for fishing vessels. At the same time, they sent a document requesting the provinces to transfer the offshore fishing license quota for more than 60 fishing vessels of 15m or more in length that had been sold to Binh Thuan for re-registration. Therefore, the remaining 575 fishing vessels will continue to be implemented, striving to complete 100% in September 2024.

Concluding the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that after 4 EC inspections, Vietnam's anti-IUU fishing work has seen many changes, but has not yet achieved the desired goals, in which the situation of fishing vessels violating foreign waters is still complicated, VMS disconnections occur frequently, "3 no" ships still exist, management and law enforcement are not strict... The Prime Minister proposed to handle the responsibility of the Provincial Party Secretary, City Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial and City People's Committee if the situation of IUU violations increases in localities according to Directive 32.

The goal of the 5th inspection is to remove the EC "yellow card".

In the coming time, the Prime Minister requested that all levels and sectors must strictly implement Directive 32 of the Secretariat, Resolution No. 52 of the Government... with the goal of removing the EC "yellow card" in the 5th inspection. To do that, it is necessary to closely monitor the fleet, strictly handle cases of law violations; clearly trace the origin of aquatic products, and thoroughly handle "3 no" ships. Advise the Government to strictly handle 100% of IUU violations, and bring to trial cases of violations in foreign waters; Individuals and organizations that collude to bring fishing vessels to exploit illegally... In particular, the Prime Minister emphasized the need to thoroughly apply the provisions of Resolution No. 04 of the Council of Judges of the Supreme People's Court to strictly handle acts related to illegal exploitation in foreign waters, disconnecting, sending, and transporting VMS equipment in violation of the law... In addition, assign members of the Government to chair working groups to inspect, supervise, and promptly rectify the work of combating IUU fishing in localities before September 30, 2024.

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/trong-dot-thanh-tra-lan-5-phai-go-duoc-the-vang-ec-123542.html