Fishing vessels docking at Ninh Chu port of Ninh Thuan (Photo: VNA) Ben Tre (VNA) - The Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre isstepping up measures to address bottlenecks in fighting irregular, unreportedand unregulated (IUU) fishing, in keeping with recommendations from theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The province will strive to put an end to illegal fishing by local vessels in foreign waters by June 30, Deputy Director of the Departmentof Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Van Buoi said.
The department has also joined hands with relevant agencies to conduct regular inspections and keep a close watch on the implementation of measuresto counter IUU fishing.
Local agencies were asked to further disseminate anti-IUU fishingregulations, intensify the supervision of fishing activities, and impose heftypunishment on violators.
All boats are required to install a vessel monitoring system by the endof March, so that off-shore vessels are traceable.
The European Commission (EC) has made a positive assessment ofVietnam’s fight against IUU fishing following two inspections in the past threeyears since it gave a “yellow card” to the country’s export of aquatic productsto Europe.
Countries that fail to meet EC standards are given a “yellow card” followedby a “green card” if problems are resolved, or a “red card” if they are not. Ared card can lead to a trade ban on aquatic products./.
