Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – A delegation led by the Telecommunications Authority under the Ministry of Science and Technology on February 4 conducted an inspection at the Cat Lo Fisheries Port Management Board in Phuoc Thang ward, Ho Chi Minh City, to review the deployment of vessel monitoring system (VMS) equipment and information technology application in fisheries management, as part of efforts to tighten control over illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The delegation assessed the supply of VMS devices, connection quality, and the extent to which digital platforms and fisheries databases are being utilised in the city.
Nguyen Phong Nha, Deputy Director of the Telecommunications Authority and head of the delegation, said that the implementation process has revealed a number of shortcomings. Many fishing vessel management software systems remain fragmented and insufficiently integrated, with data across platforms not fully synchronised, complicating supersision by management agencies.
Some vessels continue to experience prolonged signal loss while the installation of two to three devices on a single vessel has also posed challanges to management. In addition, vessels staying ashore are still required to maintain VMS signals, leading to power consumption and reduced battery life. Data transmission from service providers to central systems has at times been slow and inaccurate.
The delegation also pointed out other limitations, noting that port management software and electronic fishing logbooks, though deployed by local authorities, have yet to be interconnected. Multiple systems are currently operating in parallel, with unsynchronised data.
The transition from paper logbooks to electronic ones has caused confusion for many fishermen, particularly when transmitting data in areas with weak signal coverage. Meanwhile, port management software has so far only updated sanctioning results and has not met requirements for data sharing to enable penalty imposition.
At the inspection, the Ho Chi Minh City sub-department of fisheries and fisheries surveillance proposed adjustments to several regulations to better reflect actual fishing conditions. These included reviewing the frequency of voyage reporting, allowing more flexible handling of signal loss caused by objective factors, supplementing procedures for using device logs as a basis for verification, expanding data backfill transmission solutions, and encouraging the installation of backup satellite communication equipment.
A representative of the delegation said the inspection aimed to identify grassroots-level difficulties, promptly address technical bottlenecks, require telecommunications enterprises to upgrade their systems, and advise the Government and relevant ministries and sectors on refining mechanisms and policies. These efforts are intended to improve fisheries management and support the goal of soon having the European Commission's IUU fishing “yellow card” lifted./.
