Illustrative image (Source: VNA) According to the Directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the national fisheries database (Vnfishbase) shows that as many as 223 fishing boats in localities have yet to install the VMS equipment although their operating licences are still valid.
Nguyen Quang Hung, deputy head of the Directorate of Fisheries, urged localities to work to ensure that all of the remaining fishing vessels are equipped with the device.
The number of fishing boats that have been disconnected for more than one year reaches 2,335 to date, accounting for 8% of the vessels equipped with the device, he added.
Such boasts should be monitored closely like those without the VMS equipment, he stressed.
Hung pointed out the fact that many localities have not operated the monitoring system round the clock, and many others have yet to issue regulations and procedures for fishing vessel information processing.
Moreover, only about half of the vessels with the VMS equipment have activated the device, he continued, asking localities to review the operations of all boats measuring from above 15 metres in length.
Le Van Ninh, deputy director of the Fisheries Information Centre under the Directorate of Fisheries, also stressed the need for localities to quickly issue regulations on the installation, dismantling and replacement of the equipment.
On October 23, 2017, the European Commission (EC) issued a "yellow card" warning to Vietnam, after the country failed to demonstrate sufficient progress in the fight against IUU fishing.
The commission is scheduled to conduct an inspection over IUU fishing in Vietnam in June 2023./.
VNA
