Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien highlighted a zero-tolerance policy toward illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices during a meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s IUU Steering Committee on June 25.
Tien said it is crucial to tightly manage the fishing fleet to reduce violations and minimise disconnection with Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) devices.
Nguyen Quang Hung, Director of the Fisheries Resources Surveillance Department, reported the slow progress on certain tasks aimed at lifting the European Commission's (EC) "yellow card" warning, saying that the control and management of fishing vessel activities at ports, along with law enforcement against IUU fishing violations, still need improvement. Coordination between law enforcement agencies within and among provinces has also been inadequate.
Authorities have prosecuted four cases involving intermediaries facilitating the illegal deployment of fishing vessels and fishermen to foreign waters.
The border guard force said it has listed all fishing vessels longer than 6m for management and monitoring, with particular attention to those at high risk of violating foreign waters.
They have detected, handled, and advised local authorities on administrative violations in 617 cases involving 712 individuals, resulting in fines totaling over 16 billion VND (667,000 USD). Additionally, they have revoked the captain's licences in eight cases./.
