Fishing vessels dock at an estuary (Photo: VNA) Thanks to increased communications,fishermen’s awareness of and compliance with legal regulations have improved,the department said, noting that authorities’ check and control offishing vessels, particularly in the waters adjacent to other countries’, havebeen tightened and shown better results.
Fishermen in Long Dien district havebecome aware that IUU fishing may cause serious impacts on their lives andproperty, so they have changed their plans.
Huynh Tan Nhat, a fisherman fromPhuoc Tinh commune of Long Dien district, said that because the catch is nolonger as large as in the past, to concurrently ensure a large volume of fishand adhere to legal regulations, their fishing trips have been lengthened, fromone - two months each to three - four months at present.
However, to do that, fishermen needauthorities to extend vehicle examination deadlines, allow vessels to keepoperating at sea when their monitoring systems break down, and let lawenforcement forces like coast guards, navy, fisheries resources surveillance,or border guards nearby to come to certify vessels’ status.
Col. Nguyen Van Thong, DeputyPolitical Commissar of the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Border Guard Command, said this proposalis feasible, adding after certifying the status of vessels, the forces can installa temporary monitoring system to keep track of the vehicles. Expenses will becovered by the maritime environmental protection fund so that fishermen couldfeel secure about their activities.
This solution can help both strictlymanage fishing vessels and create favourable conditions for fishing activities,he added.
Various measures from central tolocal levels, even from fishermen, are aiding nationwide efforts to carryout the European Commission’s recommendations about IUU fishing prevention andcontrol, towards the goal of having the EC's “yellow card” warning lifted.
Such efforts have beenhighly valued by Ambassador Julien Guerrier, head of the EU Delegation toVietnam, at a meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development onApril 4, during which he voiced high expectations for Vietnam’s progress in fishing vesselmanagement so as to remove the “yellow card” soon.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoanconsidered this as a chance for the country to switch from a small-scaledfisheries sector to a responsible one. He said having the “yellow card” warninglifted is not only an urgent requirement for Vietnam to develop a sustainable fisherysector but also a demonstration of its sense of responsibility and prestige inthe international arena.
TheEC issued a “yellow card” warning for Vietnam in this regard in 2017. The"yellow card" is followed by a "green card" if the problemis resolved or a "red card" if it is not. A “red card” may lead to aban on aquatic exports to the EU./.
VNA
