Removing difficulties in granting fishing licenses to fishing vessels

Quang Ninh currently has 6,217 fishing vessels, including 1,898 fishing vessels under 6m in length, managed by the People's Committees at the commune level; 3,570 fishing vessels 6-12m in length managed by the People's Committees at the district level and 749 fishing vessels 12m or longer in length managed by the People's Committees at the provincial level (fishing vessels 6m or longer in length are required to have a fishing license).

The working group of the Department of Agriculture and Environment checked documents of fishing vessels and combined propaganda and distributed leaflets to fishermen about preventing IUU fishing.

Previously, in the waters of Quang Ninh, there were fishing vessels operating in the waters but not meeting the requirements, including not being licensed to exploit aquatic resources. In July 2024, the Provincial People's Committee announced a list of fishing vessels with a length of 6m or more that were operating without official registration in Quang Ninh province, meaning they had not been licensed to exploit aquatic resources, with the number being 1,498 fishing vessels.

To be granted a fishing license, fishing vessels must ensure the following conditions: Within the quota, not on the list of prohibited occupations, have a certificate of technical safety of fishing vessels, communication equipment that meets regulations, have a journey monitoring device, have a fishing vessel registration certificate, have diplomas and certificates of the captain and chief engineer.

Issuing fishing licenses to fishing vessels is implemented in accordance with the provisions of the Fisheries Law. This is also a solution to ensure strict management of fishing activities, control fishing output, avoid over-exploitation causing depletion of fishery resources; prevent illegal fishing, protect fishery resources and the marine environment, and contribute significantly to combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Quang Ninh province has allocated a quota of 4,219 fishing licenses to fishing vessels operating in coastal and offshore areas of the province. Of which, the quota of fishing licenses for fishing vessels operating in coastal areas is 3,577 licenses; the quota of fishing licenses for fishing vessels operating in offshore areas is 642 licenses. Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee has also directed the competent authorities and localities with sea and permanent fishing vessel owners to carry out the peak period of granting fishing licenses to fishing vessels from August to the end of December 2024. Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee has stipulated that from January 5, 2025, fishing vessels without fishing licenses will be included in the list of illegal fishing vessels in Quang Ninh.

Entering 2025, considering some specific objective conditions, in the first quarter, the Provincial People's Committee together with specialized units and localities conducted a final review and organized the issuance of fishing licenses for qualified fishing vessels. Explaining the reason for continuing to issue fishing licenses since the beginning of the year, the Ha Long City Economic Infrastructure Department reported that most of the fishing vessels with a length of 6m to less than 12m do not have value-added invoices when building or converting ships, so they cannot be granted registration fees, one of the mandatory procedures for granting fishing licenses according to regulations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. Many ship owners build new ships without approval, buy and sell but do not carry out the procedures for transferring documents according to legal regulations, leading to a situation where the ships do not have original documents; the ships do not meet the prescribed conditions and criteria (ship hull, ship engine, fishing profession, etc.), so it is also difficult to issue fishing licenses. In addition, there is a situation where ship owners contact to register fishing vessels, but through actual inspection, there are no names of ship owners residing in the area, so there is no basis to guide the process of registering fishing vessels according to regulations.

Mr. Ha Van Ninh, an officer of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Van Don district, said: One of the main reasons for the need to continue granting fishing licenses to fishing vessels is that those directly involved in fishing have not yet fully and promptly accessed the legal policies in general and in the field of fisheries, leading to a lack of strict compliance with some regulations. In addition, Quang Ninh province has exhausted its fishing license quota, so it is necessary to adjust the quota allocation to suit the reality.

The working group of the Department of Agriculture and Environment worked with fishing boat owners who violated sustainable fishing.

In the first quarter, functional units have taken the initiative and determined to grant fishing licenses to all qualified fishing vessels. Van Don is the locality with the largest number of 6-12m fishing vessels in need of fishing licenses in the province. The district has stepped up propaganda, guidance, receiving documents and carrying out appraisal and granting fishing licenses to fishing vessels. The district has established a working group to propagate and guide the registration of fishing vessels, focusing on procedures for registering fishing licenses for fishing vessels, with the task of propagating and providing professional guidance for boat owners to complete fishing license applications. The district also assigned the Department of Agriculture and Environment to preside over and coordinate with tax units and communes and towns to issue fishing licenses to fishing vessels... By the end of February 2025, Van Don district had completed 100% of the target of granting fishing licenses to fishing vessels, with 878 vessels.

Up to now, Quang Ninh has granted fishing licenses to fishing vessels in the area with high results, with 92.7% of fishing vessels subject to fishing licenses, equivalent to nearly 4,000 fishing vessels.

Vietnam China

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/go-kho-trong-cap-phep-khai-thac-thuy-san-cho-tau-ca-3352976.html