Ben Tre cooperates with the Vietnam Coast Guard Command to support propaganda and mobilize fishermen and organizations and individuals to comply with the law and not violate IUU.
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Fishing boats in Binh Dai district, Ben Tre province bring exploited seafood ashore for consumption. ( Source: bentre.dcs.vn)
Pursuant to Decision No. 81/QD-TTg dated February 13, 2023 of the Prime Minister on promulgating the action plan to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (combat IUU fishing), preparing to work with the 4th European Commission Inspection Delegation, the People's Committee of Ben Tre province has developed Plan 983 to combat IUU fishing in the province, including 10 specific tasks, focusing on 4 groups of recommendations of the European Commission (EC).
Accordingly, the 10 specific tasks set out in Plan 983 are to be completed by the end of May 2023, including: All fishing vessels registered in the province are reviewed and their records updated; vessels participating in fishing activities are granted fishing licenses; vessels participating in fishing activities are inspected and marked; and the installation of voyage monitoring equipment on fishing vessels subject to mandatory installation of equipment for fishing vessels is completed.
At the same time, all fishing vessels with a length of 15m or more are inspected before leaving port for exploitation, ensuring full documentation and equipment according to regulations; fishing vessels with a length of 15m or more are monitored and supervised through the fishing vessel monitoring system when participating in exploitation at sea, and are inspected, checked and controlled at fishing ports;
Fishing vessels that lose their journey monitoring signals will be handled according to regulations; fishing vessels that exploit beyond the maritime boundary will be handled according to regulations; aquatic product output from exploitation when unloaded through fishing ports in the province will be inspected and monitored; no fishing vessels or fishermen in Ben Tre will be arrested by foreign authorities for illegal fishing.
The fight against IUU fishing continues to be focused on by Party committees and authorities at all levels, closely following Plan 983 to lead and direct the implementation resolutely and synchronously, and coordination between units has also been strengthened. Since then, the limitations and shortcomings in implementing this work have been gradually overcome and brought about certain changes.
Since the beginning of the year, in addition to developing a communication program against illegal fishing in accordance with Directive 45/CT-TTg in 2017 on urgent tasks and solutions to overcome the EC's warning against illegal fishing, which has been maintained since 2018, Ben Tre province has continued to promote propaganda in many forms.
The Provincial People's Committee has directed the implementation of the model of assigning cadres and party members from local organizations to be directly responsible. Each cadre and party member supports the ship owner in controlling and managing fishing vessels operating at sea; in which, the main focus is on monitoring fishing vessels through monitoring applications of fishing vessel monitoring service providers in the whole province. Currently, 24 communes have assigned 177 cadres and party members to be directly responsible for 266 ship owners/348 vessels in the high-risk category in the area.
Ben Tre also coordinates with the Vietnam Coast Guard Command to support propaganda and mobilize fishermen and organizations and individuals to comply with the law and not violate IUU. Since 2021, the province has organized 3 times to register and review fishing vessels.
Through review, the authorities have removed the registration according to regulations for fishing vessels that are no longer actually involved in exploitation, mobilized fishermen to carry out inspection procedures, requested to be granted fishing licenses, and inspected and granted certificates of food safety eligibility.
According to the Ben Tre Fisheries Department, since the beginning of 2023, the province has eliminated over 390 vessels that are not qualified to operate. To date, the province has 3,055 registered vessels; of which, the longest length is over 15m is 2,044 vessels; the longest length from 12m to under 15m is 408 vessels, the longest length under 12m is 603 vessels.
The province granted fishing licenses to nearly 75% of registered vessels; granted technical safety certificates to 71% of vessels subject to inspection; granted food safety certificates to more than 85.6%; Ben Tre province's fishing vessel data is regularly updated in the National Fishing Vessel Data.
Mr. Huynh Van Cung, Head of Ben Tre Fisheries Sub-Department, said that the province has effectively implemented the monitoring of fishing vessels during exploitation activities with the rate of installing monitoring devices on vessels reaching 98%. In particular, the locality has effectively implemented the handling of administrative violations; all vessels violating the boundary, not maintaining the operation of monitoring devices... are handled.
In the coming time, Vice Chairman of Ben Tre Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Minh Canh requested local Party committees and authorities to focus on disseminating, directing, monitoring and inspecting units under their management; coordinate with the province's specialized sectors in implementing anti-IUU.
On the other hand, the province urgently reviewed all data on fishing vessel management activities; focused maximum resources, arranged locations, and staff with good professional expertise, the ability to present reports and respond to requests from the EC Inspection Team. At the same time, strictly controlled fishing vessels entering and leaving ports, performed well the confirmation, certification and traceability of exploited aquatic products, and fishing vessels participating in fishing activities must ensure sufficient conditions according to regulations.
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