Ba Ria-Vung Tau (VNA) – The Ministry of National Defence's Steering Committee for Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Prevention and Control held a conference on southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province on November 12 to discuss urgent measures in line with the Prime Minister’s directives to combat illegal fishing.
At the conference, Lieutenant General Nguyen Trong Binh, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, commended the efforts of agencies and units in addressing IUU fishing. He urged them to continue implementing the Prime Minister’s directives with the goal of having the European Commission (EC)'s “yellow card” warning on Vietnamese seafood lifted.
Binh called on authorities to strengthen inspections and controls on all fishing vessels leaving ports, ensuring ships that do not meet requirements are not allowed to leave ports. The Coast Guard, Navy, and Border Guard units are to work closely with the local authorities to review and address any unqualified vessels. These forces are also expected to increase patrols at sea, islands, river mouths, inlets, and flats, and adjust patrol methods as needed.
Additionally, the units will continue to investigate and address violations related to IUU fishing, including illegal exploitation in foreign waters, falsification of export documents, and illegal disconnections of vessel monitoring systems (VMS). They will also enforce the terms of Resolution No. 04/2024/NQ-HDTP issued on June 12, 2024, by the Supreme People's Court.
At the conference, delegates discussed specific measures and identified areas for improvement in IUU fishing prevention and control./.
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