Building a national database on aquaculture and fisheries exploitation

On December 2, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha , Deputy Head of the National Steering Committee on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU), chaired the 24th meeting of the Steering Committee, connecting online with 21 coastal provinces and cities.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, Deputy Head of the National Steering Committee on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, chairs the 24th meeting of the Steering Committee - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

As of November 29, ministries, branches and localities have completed 101/101 tasks assigned by the Prime Minister.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha assessed that the national peak month on combating IUU fishing has ended, but the goal set after more than 8 years of removing the " IUU yellow card " of the European Commission (EC) has not been achieved, requiring more drastic action in the coming time.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested ministries, branches and localities to report on the progress of VNFishbase construction. During the week, working groups will go to localities to inspect the situation, including: Border Guards, fishing ports, Fisheries Departments and fishing vessel management, to assess "whether the changes are real or just on paper".

Regarding a number of swordfish shipments exported to the EU that were warned, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phung Duc Tien said that these shipments were related to two businesses in Khanh Hoa. The Ministry has directed the review of all documents, clarified the suspicion of fraud, and coordinated with the Ministry of Finance to compare input and output data of the supply chain to serve the handling according to regulations.

Referring to the case of fraud in the origin of processed seafood materials for export of swordfish in Khanh Hoa, the Deputy Prime Minister requested Khanh Hoa province to take responsibility, use all measures (customs, inspection, investigation...) to clarify and report in detail the form of punishment, the cause of fraud, and specific figures this week. If there are violations, they must be handled thoroughly. If there are signs of criminal offenses, they must be transferred to criminal proceedings and the information must be made public in newspapers and radio.

Delegates attending the meeting - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

Delegates attending the meeting - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

Also at the meeting, a representative of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) reported that the United States had refused to recognize the equivalent of 12 Vietnamese seafood exploitation occupations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), along with trade barriers and technical barriers to Vietnamese seafood and export goods.

Currently, VASEP is closely coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and experts to review and complete the report related to 12 fishing occupations that are not recognized as equivalent by the United States to send back to the United States.

At the same time, VASEP also proposed to implement the work of issuing certificates of export (COI) in parallel for 14 fisheries exploitation occupations identified by the United States as equivalent, ensuring that exploited aquatic products are used for export processing and meet the legal requirements of the United States.

Concluding the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that from now until December 15 is an important deadline to complete tasks and resolve outstanding issues related to preventing and combating IUU fishing. He requested to continue checking and evaluating data on fishing vessels violating regulations, especially those caught for illegal fishing and violating other countries' territorial waters, explaining the data discrepancies between Vietnam and the EC, and clarifying objective reasons.

Localities responsible for handling administrative and criminal violations against fishing vessels detained abroad must provide invoices, records of property confiscation, revoked licenses, and supporting photos.

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that from now until December 15 is an important deadline to complete tasks and resolve outstanding issues related to IUU prevention and control - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

Regarding VNFishbase, the Deputy Prime Minister requested an on-site inspection to determine whether the system operates as described; if there are any shortcomings, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall preside over the review and completion of the regulations on exploitation and data management, clearly defining the rights and responsibilities of users, especially ship owners and captains, in recording exploitation logs, monitoring routes and declaring catches.

Viettel and VNPT cooperated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to review VNFishbase and build a comprehensive national database, including exploitation and farming.

Localities evaluate operational efficiency, propose livelihood projects to convert fisheries, apply high technology in offshore aquaculture and develop services and tourism associated with fisheries.

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