Ninh Thuan has been undertaking measures to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. (Photo: VNA) Ninh Thuan (VNA) – The south central province ofNinh Thuan has been undertaking measures to fight illegal, unreportedand unregulated (IUU) fishing, along with 27 other coastal localities, in an efforts tohave the European Commission (EC)’s “yellow card” imposed on Vietnamese seafoodremoved soon.
Trinh Minh Hoang, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committeesaid the committee has issued an action plan to ensure effective implementation of IUUfishing prevention and control.
Coastal communes and wards have been asked to conductcommunication campaigns to enhance vessel owners' and fishermen's awareness
The province's fisheries sub-department has been required to guidevessel owners to carry out registration and licensing procedures for fishingoperations and updating data into the National Fisheries Database (VNFishbase).
Relevant units have been assigned to strictly controlfishing vessels and notify those that do not maintain monitoring equipment asrequested or sail beyond allowed boundaries at sea for handling. They must ensurethat all fishing boats, which are 15 metres in length, dock at designed portsto load and unload aquatic products as well as submit record of theirfishery activities.
The provincial border guard command and the provincialDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development were asked to launch a peakcampaign on inspecting and strictly dealing with IUU fishing and not allow fishingvessels that don’t meet requirements to leave the ports.
According to the local fisheries sub-department, alloffshore boats have been granted licenses and the number of fishing vessels equipped with vessel monitoring system (VMS) reached 99.7%. Of which, all fishing vesselslonger than 24 meters have VMS installed. Now there are no fishing vessels from Ninh Thuanviolating foreign waters.
In the southernmost province of Ca Mau, the border guardforce has strengthened collaboration with relevant agencies and localauthorities to promote dissemination to persuade fishermen to follow regulationson fishing.
According to the Border Guard Command of Ca Mau province, sinceFebruary 26, it has detected and imposed administrative fines on three cases and seven vessels for violating rules on exploiting aquatic resources.
From the beginning of 2024, border guard stations in theprovince have worked with local administrations to organise more than20 dissemination sessions, attracting more than 2,500 people. They helped raise awareness of fishermen in complying with regulations on fishing, contributing to maintaining social order and safety andprotecting aquatic resources in maritime border areas./.
