A Vietnamese fishing vessel (Photo: VNA) However, to date, the "yellow card" has yet to be removed, and thesector and local authorities still have to make joint efforts and join hands incombating IUU fishing to deal with violations.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (MARD), there currently remain cases of Vietnamese fishing vesselsinfringing on foreign waters, failing to meet the goal of putting an end to IUUfishing before December 30, 2021 as assigned by the Prime Minister.
To date, a total of 104 violating ships with 919 fishermenon board have been arrested by other countries.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said that after itsdelegation’s inspection last month, the EC decided to give Vietnam an additional sixmonths to address existing shortcomings in the implementation of the commission’srecommendations.
This is an important time to decide whether the fishery industry has the "yellow card" removed or not, Tien stressed, proposing thepolitical system and each citizen take drastic actions and well implement the EC’srecommendations.
The MARD has also met with specialised units to carry out tasks against IUU fishing. In its action plan, the ministry will specify tasks for each ministry,sector and unit, and stress the importance of the coordination between competent agencies such as customs, coast guards, and border guards, with the goalof putting an end to IUU fishing before March 31, 2023.
The ministry also emphasised the responsibility of each coastallocality, with the heads of communes, wards and towns bearing the main responsibilityin making a list of fishing vessels and their owners that once violated foreignwaters to send to the MARD and the Ministry of National Defence for monitoring;and stepping up communications to raise public awareness on this issue.
The MARD will send working delegations to inspect the fightagainst IUU fishing in each locality, added Tien./.
VNA
