Speaking atthe event, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Chau saidthe provincial authorities issued 13 documents, while the provincial Departmentof Agriculture and Rural Development issued 16 documents, taking urgentmeasures to address the warning.
Theprovincial People’s Committee held six meetings with departments and localitiesto deal with the issue, he said, expressing his hope that EC will lift its “yellowcard” warning on Vietnamese seafood on January 1, 2019.
Phan TrongHo, Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development,said the province withdrew seafood exploitation licences, as well as removedregistrations of fishing vessels found to have commit violations and announcedthem on the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s online portal andlocal radio stations.
Theprovincial authorities also reviewed the responsibility of leaders of the communalHoai Nhon and Phu Cat district People’s Committees for violations. Binh Dinh hasimproved its management and inspection capacity to fight IUU at seaports, aswell as completed a project on the establishment of a local FisheriesSurveillance Agency, which is scheduled to be put into operation later thisyear, he said.
Gabriel,for his part, said that nearly half local fishing vessels go fishing offshore,adding that in order to fight IUU fishing effectively, strong commitments from thefishing community and management agencies are needed.
Europeanparliamentarians lauded Vietnam’s progress in legal reform to respond to thewarning.
The sameday, the delegation paid working trips to Quy Nhon seaport, Binh Dinh fishery JSC,and Binh Dinh Tuna Association. –VNA