Kien Giang strengthens anti-IUU fishing communication campaigns
Kien Giang (VNA) – The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang will continue
cooperating with the High Command of the Coast Guard Region 4 to enhance communications
work to raise fishermen’s awareness about the fight against the illegal,
unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Under a cooperation programme for 2024 and 2025 signed between the provincial
Party Committee’s information and education board and the coast guard force at
a conference on March 21, both sides will focus on popularising the Party’s
guidelines and State’s policies and regulations, agreements that Vietnam
has clinched with competent countries, and Kien Giang’s documents on sea and
islands.
Besides, regulations on the protection and sustainable development of aquatic
resources, Vietnam’s legitimate rights at sea in accordance with international
law and the achievements that the country has carved out to remove the
European Union (EC)’s “yellow card” will be brought closer to local people.
They will enhance communication work on the role and potential of sea and
islands to the national construction and protection, strategy on sustainable
development of the blue economy in tandem with national defence and security.
In the meantime, the two sides will encourage the coast guard officers to
overcome challenges to protect the national sovereignty over sea and islands
and maintain peace and stability in the southwestern waters. They will also
work to fight against wrongful and hostile views on the East Sea issue and the
relationship between Vietnam and relevant countries.
According to head of the information and education board Nguyen Thanh Phong, the
communication campaign between the two sides has paid off over the past years,
helping reduce the number of fishing vessels infringing on foreign waters. In
2020, there were 43 violating cases while the figure was brought down to 16 in
2023.
Located in the southwestern region, Kien Giang has a coastline of 200 kilometres, 143 small and large islands, and a sea area of more than 63,000 square kilometres./.