Fishing vessels of Vietnam (Photo: VNA)At a recent teleconference with the28 coastal provinces and cities, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said localitieshave 180 days to take actions to address problems and carry out the tasks theyhaven’t fulfilled to remove the EC’s “yellow card” warning against IUU fishing.
He emphasised that the combat againstIUU fishing requires the entire political system’s engagement, and all efforts mustbe made for the sake of the people and the country.
Over the past five years, Khanh Hoahas stepped up the dissemination of regulations on anti-IUU fishing among the vessel owners, fishermen, captains, and fishery logistics service providers incoastal communes and fishery ports. Communications work has also been increased toraise fishermen’s awareness of the maritime boundaries of Vietnam and othercountries so that they will not infringe in foreign waters. As a result, localfishermen’s awareness and adherence to laws have gradually been improved.
Nguyen Trong Hieu, head of the Hon RoPort management board in Nha Trang city, said the EC delegation’s inspectionshowed that the port has met requirements for origin traceability and vesselrecords. Communications about IUU fishing prevention and control have alsogenerated encouraging results, including a decline in the number of vessels andfishermen suspected of committing IUU fishing.
Fisherman Cao Van Tho, 53, from VinhTruong ward of Nha Trang city, said to help persuade the EC to remove the“yellow card” warning, he and many other colleagues have exploited maritimeresources only in the waters of Vietnam since they are well aware that if theyviolate foreign sea areas, the EC will not lift the “yellow card” warning andeven impose a “red card”, which will greatly impact the country’s fisheriessector and fishermen’s income.
They have also complied with relevantrules when working at sea, including installing vessel monitoring systems,making reports whenever leaving or arriving at fishery ports, keeping fullfishing records, and not infringing in other countries’ territories.
Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)It has also updated information aboutall the 3,199 local fishing vessels on the national fisheries database system(Vnfishbase), and granted fishing licences to 3,184 of them, equivalent to 99.5%.Up to 98.39% of the boats with a minimum length of 15 metres have been equippedwith vessel monitoring devices.
He noted the vessel monitoring centreof the Fisheries Sub-department has applied modern equipment, assignedpersonnel to work around the clock, and kept in touch with families of vesselowners and fishermen in order to monitor the vehicles operating at sea and givetimely warnings to those working in the waters adjacent to regionalcountries’.
“We adamantly do not permit vesselsto leave ports if they haven’t fully complied with anti-IUU fishing rules,”Chanh went on.
In addition, the provincial Departmentof Agriculture and Rural Development also demanded the Fisheries Sub-departments coordinate with the border guards and localities to frequently holdpatrols and examinations, and stringently deal with any violation of anti-IUUfishing rules.
Chanh noted Khanh Hoa hasn’t recordedany local fishing vessels violating foreign waters since 2018.
Support from fishermen is of greatimportance to the combat against IUU fishing, he opined, adding the upgrade offisheries infrastructure is also critical to keeping control over vessels’activities.
However, the provincial Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development admitted that Khanh Hoa is still facingcertain difficulties in this regard. The waters adjacent to those of someregional countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines haven’tbeen demarcated, so vessels face latent risks while operating in these areas.
At a meeting in early December, theKhanh Hoa People’s Committee proposed ministries and central agencies step upnegotiations on the maritime boundary delimitation between Vietnam and relatedcountries to better manage fishing activities, minimise infringements offoreign waters, and provide timely assistance to vessels in distress at sea.
Khanh Hoa is currently home to fourfishery ports, namely Hon Ro, Da Bac, Vinh Luong, and Dai Lanh, and 57qualified establishments producing and processing fishery products for exportrecognised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The province’s annual seafood catch averages96,000 tonnes. In 2022, the figure is estimated at 97,800 tonnes, up 1.02% froma year earlier. Local aquatic products have been exported to 64 markets aroundthe world./.
VNA
