BTO-On the morning of September 25, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development held a meeting to hear reports on the situation of fishing boats losing connection to VMS and solutions. Attending the meeting were Mr. Nguyen Van Chien - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Lieutenant Colonel Pham Xuan Do - Deputy Commander of the Provincial Border Guard Command, members of the Inter-sectoral Working Group according to Decision 1608 and online connection of districts, towns and cities.
According to the report of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the whole province currently has 1,943/1,951 fishing vessels with a length of 15 meters or more installed with VMS equipment (100% of operating fishing vessels); 8 fishing vessels have stopped operating but have not installed VMS equipment (5 vessels are serving sentences, 3 vessels are waiting for sale), these vessels are closely managed and monitored by localities. In addition, the technical infrastructure of the Fishing Vessel Monitoring System is basically complete, and system access rights are shared with relevant agencies, units and individuals to manage, exploit and use data to serve the work of preventing and combating IUU fishing. The management, operation, exploitation and processing of information and data of the fishing vessel monitoring system are strictly implemented according to procedures and regulations; Contribute to effectively controlling fishing vessels operating at sea, promptly detecting, warning, preventing fishing vessels from crossing boundaries, violating foreign waters and supporting search, rescue and relief work at sea.
Accordingly, from May 19 to September 10, 2025, the number of fishing vessels with a length of 15 meters to less than 24 meters that lost connection for more than 6 hours and were detected as violating or received notices from the Department of Fisheries was 499/167 vessels, of which the Department of Fisheries issued notices to 167 vessels, and the authorities are verifying and handling the case. The number of fishing vessels with a length of 24 meters or more that lost connection for more than 6 hours was 65/17 vessels. The number of fishing vessels with a length of 15 meters to less than 24 meters that lost connection for more than 10 days was 61/61 vessels, 4 cases were handled with a fine of 100 million VND. The number of fishing vessels with a length of 24 meters or more that lost connection for more than 10 days was 2 times/2 vessels. The Department of Fisheries has issued notices to 2 vessels and the authorities are verifying and handling the incident. Notably, during this time, Binh Thuan has not had any cases of fishing vessels crossing the maritime boundary.
At the meeting, leaders of relevant departments, sectors and localities discussed and analyzed many reasons leading to the widespread situation of fishing vessels losing connection to VMS, emphasizing the poor quality of VMS equipment, inadequate warranty and repair services, and not knowing which unit to contact when the equipment is damaged. In addition, coordination in verifying and handling vessels violating VMS is sometimes and in some places not tight.
In addition, according to the Department of Fisheries, the use of information and data extracted from the Fishing Vessel Monitoring System (including: GSTC software, VMS equipment) as a basis for drawing up administrative violation records and issuing decisions to sanction fishing vessels that lose VMS connection or vessels that cross the boundary has not been specifically guided on authority, order, procedures, and records of sanctioning, so the agencies deciding on sanctioning are still confused and do not dare to implement it vigorously.
After listening to opinions at the meeting, the Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the provincial fishing vessel monitoring center has been in operation since 2020 and is located at the Department of Fisheries. This is currently the focal point for receiving and processing information about VMS, so the Department of Fisheries is requested to organize a full shift, promptly detect fishing vessels that have lost connection and promptly transfer them to the locality for verification and handling according to authority. At the same time, it is recommended that the Provincial People's Committee increase human resources to promote the effectiveness of the center.
Through the results of handling cases of VMS disconnection, it can be seen that some units are still hesitant and not bold enough to handle them. Therefore, in the coming time, the Inter-sectoral Working Group needs to closely coordinate with localities to strengthen monitoring, receiving, investigating, verifying, and handling violations of VMS. Because this is one of the important criteria that the EC will check to remove the IUU "yellow card". In addition, it is recommended that functional forces (Police, Border Guard, Fisheries Surveillance) take drastic action, organize investigations, verify, handle, and strictly punish violations. During the verification process, it is necessary to clearly distinguish fraudulent acts in confirming due to system errors, satellite disconnection, and criminal prosecution according to regulations to enhance deterrence.
The key task until October 31, Mr. Chien requested the Department of Fisheries to review all cases of violations of VMS regulations from October 2023 to present, verify, clarify, and handle each specific case according to regulations. At the same time, strengthen state management of enterprises and units providing VMS services and equipment in the province. Regarding the "cold fine" mechanism, the Department of Justice is requested to direct the Professional Department to coordinate with the Inspectorate of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to study the legal regulations on handling administrative violations to guide or advise the Provincial People's Committee to report to competent authorities for implementation guidance...
Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/ban-giai-phap-xu-ly-tau-ca-mat-ket-noi-thiet-bi-giam-sat-hanh-trinh-vms-124320.html
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