Fishermen of An Hai commune in Ly Son island district in the central province of Quang Ngai prepare for a fishing trip. (Source: VNA)Quang Ngai (VNA) – The centralprovince of Quang Ngai has set up two offices to monitor and inspect activitiesof fishing vessels at sea as part of local efforts to stop illegal, unreportedand unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The two offices are based atTinh Ky fishing port (Tinh Ky commune) and Tinh Hoa port (Tinh Hoa commune inQuang Ngai city). The offices’ staff will conduct inspection of fishing vesselscoming in or leaving the ports. The staff will also inspect and certify the originof catches.
According to Duong Van To,director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, thedepartment will set up inspection offices at all fishing ports in the provincewith the aim of preventing local ships from involving in illegal fishing andfacilitating the management and certification of seafood origin in line withregulations.
In September 2017, the EC issueda yellow card warning Vietnam for failing to progress in fighting IUU fishing.The EC also proposed nine recommendations that Vietnam should implement. The"yellow card" is followed by a "green card" if the problemis resolved or a "red card" if it isn’t. A “red card” can lead to atrade ban on fishery products.
The EU will assess Vietnam’sefforts to fight IUU fishing in April.
On December 13, 2017, PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued Directive 45/CT-TTg on some urgent tasks andsolutions following the EC’s warning.
The whole political system, fromthe central to local level, and fishermen of Vietnam have taken drastic actionsto prevent and combat IUU fishing.
There have been an array ofurgent solutions, including supplementing anti-IUU fishing regulations to legaldocuments, enforcing the issued regulations, disseminating the solutions tofishermen and relevant parties, enhancing cooperation with coastal and islandcountries to prevent IUU fishing, and holding dialogues to update the EU onVietnam’s efforts to improve fisheries management.
As a result, illegal fishing inforeign waters by Vietnamese boats has declined considerably, the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development (MARD) said at the ministry’s regular pressconference on March 2.-VNA
VNA
