Combating IUU fishing must be carried out continuously and cannot be relaxed.

A working delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment led by Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien worked with the Kien Giang Provincial Party Committee on the results of the implementation of the task of combating IUU fishing. Photo: Trung Chanh.

On March 25, the working delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment led by Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien worked with the Kien Giang Provincial Party Committee on the results of the implementation of the task of combating IUU fishing, preparing to welcome and work with the 5th EC Inspection Delegation in Kien Giang province. Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Council of Kien Giang province Lam Minh Thanh received and worked with the delegation.

Mr. Le Huu Toan, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Kien Giang province, said that as of March 15, the whole province had 10,033 registered fishing vessels, an increase of 27 vessels compared to the end of 2024. The number of vessels with valid fishing licenses was 7,973, accounting for 79.5% of the total number of registered vessels, with 3,587/3,620 fishing vessels with a length of 15m or more installed with VMS (accounting for 99.1%). The remaining 33 fishing vessels that have not installed VMS are mainly vessels lying on shore or vessels waiting for sale, all of which are closely monitored and managed by the locality.

In particular, Kien Giang province has thoroughly handled "3 no" fishing vessels in the province, registered 2,090 "3 no" fishing vessels, 100% of registered fishing vessels are marked according to regulations; updated 100% of registration data, granted fishing licenses to fishing vessels into the national fisheries database system Vnfishbase.

The functional sector of Kien Giang province has inspected and supervised 13,230 fishing vessels entering and leaving the port, supervised the loading and unloading of goods through fishing ports and wharves inside and outside the province with a total output of 319,347 tons. Issued 152 certificates of origin of aquatic products to 24 enterprises, issued 271 certificates of origin of exploitation to the European market to 3 cargo owners with a volume of 2,398 tons of aquatic products. Issued 2,707 accounts to access the electronic aquatic product traceability system eCDT.

Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Council of Kien Giang Province Lam Minh Thanh directed that the Provincial Steering Committee on IUU needs to develop a specific plan and implement measures to overcome the limitations and shortcomings pointed out by the delegation. In particular, focusing on improving the legal basis, strengthening propaganda to change people's awareness, and coordination between functional units to improve the effectiveness of fisheries management.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phung Duc Tien gave a speech at the working session with Kien Giang Provincial Party Committee. Photo: Trung Chanh.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phung Duc Tien - Deputy Head of the National Steering Committee on IUU said that after 7 years of implementing the fight against IUU fishing, fishermen's awareness has been increasingly raised. State management and law enforcement on fighting against IUU fishing have become increasingly effective. Along with propaganda and mobilizing fishermen to comply with the law at sea, administrative sanctions and criminal sanctions for serious violations are also applied to increase deterrence.

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien also assessed that the situation of fishing vessels violating IUU fishing has decreased significantly but has not ended. As a province with a large fleet, Kien Giang needs to strengthen the management and supervision of the fleet, especially the group of vessels with high risk of violating IUU fishing. When detecting fishing vessels violating, they must be handled quickly, strictly and decisively.

Source: https://nongnghiep.vn/chong-khai-thac-iuu-phai-thuc-hien-lien-tuc-khong-duoc-noi-long-d744853.html