Over a year of focused implementation of the EC's recommendations following the 4th inspection in Vietnam (October 2023), Binh Thuan province has completed a significant amount of work and initially achieved important results according to the set requirements and targets, contributing to the country's efforts to remove the IUU "yellow card" this year.
A decisive intervention
At the recent 28th (special) session of the 11th Provincial People's Council, a Resolution was passed stipulating a policy to support VMS subscription fees in the province. This policy is of great significance in contributing to preventing fishing vessels from violating foreign waters and encouraging fishermen to stay at sea and venture further offshore. Thanks to close monitoring of high-risk vessels, no fishing vessels violating foreign waters have been detected in the province to date. In addition, Binh Thuan has made efforts to register and issue fishing licenses for "3-no" fishing vessels, achieving a rate of over 95.3%. The percentage of fishing vessels registered, inspected, and issued valid fishing licenses has increased. To date, the entire province has 8,241 registered fishing vessels (including 4,266 vessels from 6 -
However, some targets and tasks have not yet met the requirements as recommended by the EC, and as directed by the Central Government and the province. Currently, the province still has 1,084 fishing vessels that have not completed the procedures for issuing or renewing licenses; 135 fishing vessels with "three no's" (no registration, no permits ...
To prepare for the 5th visit of the European Commission (EC) Inspection Team (scheduled for November 2024), Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Hong Hai requested relevant agencies, especially specialized agencies and coastal localities, to closely follow the directives of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee, review and focus resources on urgently addressing shortcomings and limitations related to combating IUU (Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated) fishing.
Focus on the remaining tasks.
The most important focus is on strictly managing high-risk fishing vessels, preventing them and fishermen from violating foreign waters. Simultaneously, registration for the "three no's" fishing vessels, as announced by the Provincial People's Committee, must be completed before November 20, 2024. Furthermore, a thorough review and identification of all remaining "three no's" fishing vessels must be carried out to handle them according to regulations. Vessels that have registered but lack/have expired fishing licenses must be urged to complete the necessary procedures for renewal, and strict control measures must be implemented to prevent them from departing for fishing. In particular, attention must be focused on addressing the limitations and shortcomings in fishermen's fishing logbook recording. Regarding this issue, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested that relevant agencies organize direct guidance at fishing ports and conduct training courses in key fishing areas. Develop concise and easy-to-understand guidelines for printing and distributing to fishermen, and issue food safety certificates/commitments to fishing vessels to ensure the verification of the origin of harvested seafood for processing and export businesses, in conjunction with the effective and feasible implementation of the eCDT system as directed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also emphasized the need to focus on completing the verification and handling of fishing vessels that have lost VMS connectivity at sea (for more than 10 days and 6 hours) from October 2023 to the present, completing this before November 30, 2024. From now on, for fishing vessels that lose VMS connectivity during the month, verification and handling must be completed within that month. Functional forces (Border Guard, Fisheries Inspection, Fisheries Control Office) will continue to organize intensive patrols, inspections, and controls of fishing vessels operating at sea, at temporary ports, and coastal areas to detect, prevent, and handle violations according to regulations.
Regarding projects to improve fishing port infrastructure, dredge channels, and address environmental pollution in the fishing port area, relevant agencies are required to continue coordinating to complete the necessary procedures and documents in accordance with the law, and to organize construction and project implementation to ensure the set schedule. Particular attention should be paid to urgently completing the dredging package for the waters in front of the 400 HP berth at La Gi Fishing Port and the fire prevention and fighting project for the expansion and upgrading of the storm shelter and anchorage area at La Gi estuary fishing port, so that it can be put into operation and use as soon as possible.
Regarding issues related to synchronizing VMS device data to the system, such as: fishing vessels purchasing and transferring quotas from provinces that have already installed VMS devices but have not yet had their data updated to the system because those provinces have not yet deleted the data and transferred the vessel information on the system; or VMS devices purchased by fishermen from vessel tracking equipment suppliers but not meeting the requirements for synchronization to the system... the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is requested to review and resolve these issues completely. If necessary, advise the Provincial People's Committee to send a report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other provinces for coordinated resolution.
Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/binh-thuan-don-luc-chong-khai-thac-iuu-126030.html
Comment (0)