Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Localities must focus on drastic measures, especiallyin the management of fishing vessels and the traceability of their seafood origins,directed Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien.
Following theEuropean Commission's recommendations on combating illegal, unreported and unregulated(IUU) fishing, Vietnam has prevented violations by its fishing vessels of the seas of countries and territories in the Pacific, he told a press conference in Hanoion July 3.
Deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment’s Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Duong Van Cuong said the legal framework on IUU combat hasbeen completed but still needs update and amendments, especially in a decreeon administrative fines in the fisheries sector.
Vietnam has cut the number of fishing vessels by 9,789 comparedto 2019. The national fisheries database (VNFishbase) has been deployed in 31relevant localities, with a total of 73,282 fishing vessels measuring 6m ormore in length updated in the database.
Up to 27,810 vessels with alength of 15m and above have been granted licenses, or 94.3% of the total. The installation of vessel monitoring system (VMS)has reached 97.65%.
Units and localities have monitored fishing vessels from departure toarrival at the ports, cross-referenced the fishing logbook with the VMS, thelist of high-risk vessels violating IUU fishing, and the data from the VNFishbaseto inspect, control, and take action against IUU fishing activities.
Thanksto workforce training and infrastructure upgrade, the provinces of Binh Dinh,Khanh Hoa, Binh Thuan, Tien Giang andKien Giang have achieved positive results in the effort.
The control of the origin of seafood rawmaterials is in line with the Vietnamese laws and fundamentally complies withthe requirements of the Agreement on Port State Measures at 14 designatedseaports for foreign vessels to dock.
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang has asked localities to adopt measuresas requested by the PM from now till October, including strengthening lawenforcement forces at sea to handle violations promptly, managing andsupervising the VMS to ensure reliability in traceability, and more./.
