Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has ordered the establishment of inter-agency inspection teams to intensify efforts against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing which, he stressed, remains a direct challenge to national credibility, seafood exports and the livelihoods of law-abiding fishermen.
The Government leader made the request in a January 13 official dispatch sent to the ministers of agriculture and environment, national defence, public security, foreign affairs, science and technology, and industry and trade; the Inspector General of the Government Inspectorate; and the heads of the Party Committees and People's Committees of the 22 coastal provinces and cities.
The PM acknowledged progress in the IUU fishing combat, including improvement in fishermen and businesses' awareness, enhanced management of fishing vessels and their operations at sea, better seafood traceability, and stronger detection, prevention and settlement of violations. However, he warned against complacency, formality or loopholes in implementation.
The fight against IUU fishing and the removal of the European Commission’s “yellow card” warning were described as a particularly important and urgent task requiring the strongest political resolve along with drastic and coordinated action from central to local levels.
He demanded leaders of the relevant ministries, agencies, and localities push ahead with implementing Directive No. 32-CT/TW, dated April 10, 2024, of the Party Central Committee's Secretariat, directions by the Government and the PM, as well as related instructions.
Outlining some focal urgent tasks, he assigned the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to lead inter-sectoral inspection teams to review local performance, verify the substance of reported case closures, clarify responsibilities of each collective and individual concerned, and report results to the PM by January 25.
Inspections will focus on vessel registration and monitoring, port controls, wrongdongs in the fishing, purchasing, processing and export chain, enterprise compliance for shipments bound for the EU and other markets, the handling of violations in foreign waters, operation of vessel monitoring systems (VMS), fisheries databases, and livelihood transition policies.
Other ministries were tasked with specific duties, including standardising and linking fisheries data systems, strengthening maritime patrols to prevent incursions into foreign waters, expediting investigations into IUU-related crimes, enhancing cooperation with foreign authorities, and conducting targeted inspections of localities.
Coastal provinces and cities were urged to take full responsibility for law enforcement and case handling, ensure data accuracy and system operation, review export shipments to the EU, and develop plans for sustainable fisheries development.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, as the standing body of the national steering committee on IUU fishing prevention and control, was assigned to coordinate supervision and report overall results to the PM./.
