Hai Phong joins national effort in IUU fishing combat

Vessel monitoring system installed on fishing boat (Photo: VNA)

Hai Phong (VNA) – The northern port city of Hai Phong is intensifying concerted measures to join the nationwide effort in the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing so as to soon get the European Commission (EC)’s "yellow card" warning against Vietnamese seafood removed.

According to statistics from the municipal People's Committee, as of late October, the city had 887 fishing vessels with a length of 6 metres or more updated on the VnFishbase system.

In addition to awareness-raising measures, Hai Phong has stepped up various State management solutions. According to the Hai Phong Fisheries Sub-department, the city has actively worked with the rest of the country to solve the issue of "three no’s" fishing vessels that lack proper registration, fishing licenses, or inspection certifications. As of October 23, all the 143 “three no’s” fishing vessels in the city had completed their registration, licensing, and update of their information in the VnFishbase system.

From December 20, 2023, to October 23, 2024, relevant authorities handled 132 administrative violations, with a total fine of over 2 billion VND (78,900 USD).

To ensure more effective solutions, the committee has also recommended the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development continue to direct localities to intensify inspections and monitoring, and strictly handle all violations so as to prevent the cases where fishing vessels are tightly controlled in one locality but move to another area to avoid enforcement.

It is also necessary to promptly finalise and issue several policies to support the development of the fisheries sector, and implement policies supporting fishermen in transitioning from harmful, fuel-intensive fishing practices to more sustainable, selective methods that use less fuel and are environmentally friendly to marine ecosystems./.

VNA