Binh Thuan province makes progress in fighting IUU fishing

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

Binh Thuan (VNA) – The south-centralprovince of Binh Thuan found no cases of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU)fishing by local farmers from July 2019 to mid-2021, heard a conference onSeptember 24.

Nguyen Van Chien, Deputy Director of the provincialDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development, said local authorities havepaid attention to preventing IUU fishing, particularly fishing vessels' illegal exploitation in foreign waters, over the past time.

Apart from enforcing the 2017 Law on Fisheries, BinhThuan has drastically carried out the communication work to raise farmers’ awarenessof relevant regulations, the official said.

The province has focused on implementing recommendationsof the European Commission (EC) regarding the installation of VesselsMonitoring System (VMS) on boats, and supervising fishing activities at sea andports.

Delegates at the conference discussed obstacles in combatingIUU fishing, and countermeasures.

Nguyen Van Phong, Vice Chairman of the provincialPeople’s Committee, said border guards need to closely coordinate with law enforcementagencies, and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to verify andhandle violations.

All of the targeted fishing boats must be equippedwith the VMS, he requested./.

VNA