Exchange and share experiences in handling IUU fishing

Scene of the working session, exchange, and experience sharing in handling IUU violations between the Departments of Agriculture and Environment of Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Ben Tre provinces on the afternoon of April 4, 2025

Working scene.

Mr. Nguyen Van Buoi, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ben Tre province, said that from 2024 to now, the province has had more than 17,000 ships losing VMS connection from 6 hours to less than 10 days.

To date, the province has not been able to handle any cases due to lack of legal basis and difficult investigation and verification. Currently, Ben Tre still has nearly 1,000 pending cases that have not been resolved due to lack of evidence.

Officers of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province share experience in handling violations of fishing vessels losing connection.

Officers of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province share experience in handling violations of fishing vessels losing connection.

Sharing at the meeting, Mr. Dang Van Luong, Deputy Head of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, said that from January 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province recorded 1,685 fishing vessels/17,670 times losing VMS connection from 6 hours to less than 10 days.

The province has verified 1,642 fishing vessels and administratively sanctioned 69 related ship owners and captains with a total fine of more than VND 2.9 billion; 1,573 vessels were not subject to violations because the ship owners/captains reported the ship's location, the fishing vessels promptly corrected the signal or the ship sank, and the registration was deleted...

The remaining 43 cases are still under investigation, verification and handling. The province has sent a dispatch requesting the provinces of Nam Dinh, Binh Thuan, Kien Giang, Quang Binh, Ninh Thuan and Ca Mau to coordinate in verifying and handling 21 ships.

Shore control station of fishing vessels operating at sea at the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province.

The station to control fishing vessel activities at sea is located at the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.

Thanks to the efforts of authorities and localities to verify and strictly handle violations, the number of fishing vessels losing VMS connection from 6 hours to less than 10 days in Ba Ria-Vung Tau in the first quarter of 2025 decreased 3.3 times compared to the same period in 2024.

“Currently, there are only a few cases of fishing boats losing connection to VMS every day, but most fishing boat owners have proactively monitored and promptly fixed the problem, reporting the location of the boat to the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance, so they have not been punished. This helps the verification and handling of violations by the authorities to be quick and effective,” said Ms. Pham Thi Na, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.

News and photos: NGOC MINH

Source: https://baobariavungtau.com.vn/kinh-te/202504/giao-luu-chia-se-kinh-nghiem-xu-ly-khai-thac-iuu-1038864/