Deputy PM Quang, who is also head of the National Steering Committee for IUU Fishing Prevention and Control, suggested bringing serious violation cases to People's Courts for trial as a deterrent measure.

He told the Miistry of Agriculture and Rural Development to continuing to arrange inspection teams and instruct localities in combating IUU fishing and reporting the results to the Prime Minister.

Specific tasks were also assigned to the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security and authorities of coastal cities and provinces.

At present, there are about 15,200 unregistered, unlicensed and unchecked technically fishing vessels nationwide, with the highest number in the south central province of Binh Thuan, with more than 1,800 vessels.

Since the beginning of 2023, nearly 5,000 cases have emerged wherein vessels lost connection with the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) for more than 10 days. Only 8 out of 37 vessels detained by foreign countries have undergone verification and subsequent penalties./.

VNA