Fishing vessels in Phu Yen toe the line, avoid illegal fishing in foreign waters

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Phu Yen (VNA) – Since 2019, fishing vessels in the south-central province of Phu Yen have been avoiding the illegal exploitation of aquatic products in foreign waters, Deputy General Director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)’s Directorate of Fisheries (DoF) Nguyen Quang Hung told the Vietnam News Agency in a recent interview.

Hung said Phu Yen and other localities nationwide have made efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and undocumented (IUU) fishing. Through a fact-finding trip at Dong Tac port in Tuy Hoa city of Phu Yen province showed that it has followed relatively enough legal regulations on IUU fishing combat.

Up to 641 out of 653 fishing vessels have been equipped with vessel monitoring systems, reaching 98.16%.

Phu Yen has 1,922 fishing vessels, including 661 with a maximum length of 6-12m that tap aquatic products in coastal areas. They have 608 others with a length of 12-15m operating in offshore areas, and 653 of 15m and above in length in the open sea. With this number of fishing vessels, the border guards have to monitor all incoming and outgoing vessels to ensure the management of fishing activities.

According to the official, Phu Yen initially applied electronic fishing logbooks for fishermen. However, fishermen who work offshore failed to connect to the Internet so they have to log in offline. When they return to shore, data could only be updated. Therefore, the DoF has asked units to develop software to fix this shortcoming.

As scheduled from May 24-31, an inspection team from the European Commission (EC) will conduct an on-site inspection in Vietnam. Phu Yen is one of the localities that is highly likely to be inspected due to its high volume of ocean tuna and swordfish exports to the European market.

To prepare for this fourth inspection, Hung said the provincial People's Committee should direct the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and other units to follow the Prime Minister’s dispatches and directives, especially the decision on issuing an action plan to combat IUU fishing.

Fishing ports were advised to review all records and legal enforcement activities so that they could offer quick responses when the team asks questions. It is also necessary to monitor the number of products being brought to the ports, the entry and exit of fishing vessels there, the electronic logbooks of fishermen, and the activities of inspection offices.  

He suggested the provincial authorities build a detailed plan to work with the EC's inspection team, in which, each relevant unit must be assigned with specific tasks as required by the MARD./.