Vietnam opposes any use of force against its fishing vessels operating normally at sea, threatening the life and safety as well as causing damage to the property and interests of fishermen, running counter to international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS), spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang said on August 31.
Fishermen in the south central coastal province of Ninh Thuan brought ashore 55,802 tonnes of seafood in the first six months of 2023, up 7.4% year on year.
The central coastal province of Thanh Hoa has taken drastic measures to better monitor fishing boats, towards the removal of the “yellow card” warning by the European Commission (EC).
The southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau will set up three inter-sectoral checkpoints at sea to supervise the operation of fishing vessels in an effort to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
After three rounds of inspection, the European Commission (EC) has affirmed that Vietnam is on the right track in the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, but the country has yet to satisfy set requirements, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has asked coastal localities to coordinate in handling the fishing boats that lose contact with the vessel monitoring system (VMS) for more than 10 days at sea.
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the central coastal province of Quang Ngai has proposed the provincial People’s Committee and central agencies pay more attention to investment in infrastructure at local fishing ports.
Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh has ordered coastal and border guards and police forces to step up patrols, inspections, and handling of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing at sea and in ports.
Four coastal provinces have completed the installation of vessel monitoring systems (VMS) equipment on all fishing boats with a length of 15m and more, according to the Directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Up to 3,664 out of 3,666 fishing boats in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang have been equipped with monitoring devices, the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development reported.
As many as 211 fishing vessels in the southern province of Tra Vinh have installed vessel monitoring systems (VMS) as of the beginning of November, accounting for 92 percent of the total boats.
Vietnam’s fishermen, businesses and government have joined hands in implementing fishing regulations, in a bid to have the European Commission (EC)’s illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing “yellow card” removed.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has handed out tasks to relevant ministries and agencies with view to achieving the target of eradicating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by the end of 2021.
Under Vietnam’s fisheries development strategy to 2030 and vision to 2045, the fisheries sector is applying itself to become an important sector in the country, strongly integrate into the world, develop sustainably and responsibly, and proactively adapt to climate change.
The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Ben Tre will expand its offshore fishing and revamp its fishing fleet to sustainably exploit marine resources under a new plan for until 2030.
The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang invested more than 645 billion VND (28.2 million USD) in fishing infrastructure in 2020, according to its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The Consular Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has contacted the Malaysian Embassy in Hanoi and expressed deep concern over Malaysian law enforcement forces’ chasing of Vietnamese fishing that led to the death of a Vietnamese fisherman, according to the ministry’s spokeswoman.
The Malaysian government’s suspension on hiring foreign labourers has left the fishing sector in the country severely understaffed, with fishermen facing a tough future, according to the Malaysian Insight.
Politics
