Localities urged to manage fishing vessels, trace origin

Following the European Commission's recommendations on combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, Vietnam has prevented violations by its fishing vessels of the seas of countries and territories in the Pacific, he told a press conference in Hanoi on July 3.

Deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Duong Van Cuong said the legal framework on IUU combat has been completed but still needs update and amendments, especially in a decree on administrative fines in the fisheries sector.

Vietnam has cut the number of fishing vessels by 9,789 compared to 2019. The national fisheries database (VNFishbase) has been deployed in 31 relevant localities, with a total of 73,282 fishing vessels measuring 6m or more in length updated in the database.

Up to 27,810 vessels with a length of 15m and above have been granted licenses, or 94.3% of the total. The installation of vessel monitoring system (VMS) has reached 97.65%.

Units and localities have monitored fishing vessels from departure to arrival at the ports, cross-referenced the fishing logbook with the VMS, the list of high-risk vessels violating IUU fishing, and the data from the VNFishbase to inspect, control, and take action against IUU fishing activities.

Thanks to workforce training and infrastructure upgrade, the provinces of Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Binh Thuan, Tien Giang and Kien Giang have achieved positive results in the effort.

The control of the origin of seafood raw materials is in line with the Vietnamese laws and fundamentally complies with the requirements of the Agreement on Port State Measures at 14 designated seaports for foreign vessels to dock.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang has asked localities to adopt measures as requested by the PM from now till October, including strengthening law enforcement forces at sea to handle violations promptly, managing and supervising the VMS to ensure reliability in traceability, and more.