Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Ben Tre (VNA) – The Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre is focusing on finishing the installation of fishing vessel monitoring devices in a bid to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Since June 2019, the province has installed tracking devices on local fishing vessels. To date, the devices have been installed on 453 vessels with length of 24 metres or more, equivalent to 96.58 percent, and 875 boats with length of from 15 metres to under 24 metres, or 50.75 percent.
Huynh Van Cung, head of the province’s Fishery Office, said that the province is facing difficulties in this work, as many vehicles have delayed the installation. Local authorised agencies have warned 100 households with 200 vehicles for their delay.
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Huu Lap asked relevant agencies to intensify dissemination work to raise fishmen’s awareness of fishing-related laws and regulations, especially the 2017 Law on Fisheries.
The locality will take measures to force vessel owners to install tracking devices, strictly control fishing boats operating at the ports as well as monitoring offshore vessels through monitoring systems.
It will also strictly punish those violating regulations on IUU fishing prevention, Lap added./.
VNA
