Kien Giang fights IUU fishing

Fishing vessels off the coast of An Bien district, Kien Giang province (Photo: VNA)

Kien Giang (VNA) – The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang has intensified concerted measures to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, as the fourth working session with the European Commission’s inspection team is nearing.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Le Quoc Anh said the province has investigated and punished all fishing vessels that were arrested abroad and violated IUU. All information have also been publicised on the mass media.

The locality also launched crackdowns on violating vessels and those lacking the global positioning system (GPS), he said.

According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the total number of the fishing vessels with a length of 15m or more that are required to install GPS tracking devices is 3,691. So far, 3,624 vessels, or 98.2%, have installed these devices.

An inspection team of the EC is scheduled to return to Vietnam in April to examine Vietnam’s anti-IUU fishing moves. The country is striving to have the EC’s “yellow card” warning against this issue removed right in 2023, which depends much on fishermen’s cooperation.

A single fishing vessel infringing foreign waters will be enough to ruin efforts to persuade the EC to lift the “yellow card”, said a letter issued by the provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee to locals calling for support to the fight.

The letter particularly targets fishing vessel owners, executives of fishing, seafood purchasing and processing companies, captains, and fishermen in the Mekong Delta province.

The targeted groups are urged to promptly carry out the Government’s 180-day action plan against IUU fishing, implement the EC’s recommendations, and not to take fishing vessels to foreign waters for fishing./.