Results of implementation of EC recommendations on combating IUU fishing

From the beginning of 2023 to now, in the province, there has been 1 case/1 ship/7 workers violating illegal fishing in the sea area and being arrested by Malaysia. Accordingly, the Provincial People's Committee has issued a decision to administratively fine the fishing boat owner VND 900 million, not applying additional penalties because the boat has been arrested and destroyed by Malaysian authorities.

In addition, fishing vessels losing connection to VMS, crossing maritime boundaries, and violating foreign waters through the fishing vessel monitoring system still occur. For fishing vessels from 15 to under 24 m managed by localities, there were 362 cases of fishing vessels losing connection for more than 6 hours at sea, mainly due to unstable transmission signals. The on-duty staff at the provincial fishing vessel monitoring center contacted and requested the vessel owner/captain to promptly fix the problem and handle it according to the correct procedures and regulations. There were 52 cases of fishing vessels losing connection for more than 10 days at sea, of which 4 cases were administratively sanctioned; the remaining 48 cases are being verified and handled according to regulations. At the same time, 22 fishing vessels were detected crossing maritime boundaries through the fishing vessel monitoring system. The verification and handling results showed that 5 fishing vessels were due to GPS errors; 10 fishing boats promptly returned to Vietnam's waters (under 2 hours); the provincial fishing boat monitoring center issued 7 notices to relevant agencies for coordination in handling, accordingly the Border Guard invited 4 boat owners to work and warn.

Provincial fishing vessel monitoring center.

For fishing vessels of 24 m or more, there were 12 cases of fishing vessels losing connection for more than 6 hours, and the authorities have coordinated with them to verify the cause. However, the fishing vessels have not returned to shore. There were 7 cases of fishing vessels losing connection to VMS for more than 10 days. Through investigation and verification, the authorities have fined 2 vessels; 5 cases have not been fined because 1 vessel lost connection to shore, 2 vessels returned to shore before 10 days, and 2 vessels have not returned to shore. No fishing vessels of 24 m or more in length crossed the boundary.

Provincial authorities have punished many administrative violations in the field of fisheries.

In addition, in 2023, the provincial authorities sanctioned 518 administrative violations (VPHC) in the fisheries sector with a total fine of more than 4 billion VND. Of which, the Department of Fisheries issued 378 decisions to sanction VPHC/collect fines of 3.5 billion VND; the Provincial Border Guard Command issued 140 decisions to sanction VPHC/collect fines of 500 million VND. From October 1, 2023 to March 15, 2024, 133 cases of VPHC in the fisheries sector were sanctioned with a total fine of more than 1.1 billion VND. Of which, the Department of Fisheries issued 75 decisions to sanction VPHC/collect fines of 905 million VND; the Provincial Border Guard Command issued 58 decisions to sanction VPHC/collect fines of 206 million VND.

Seafood output through the port is monitored.

Regarding the results of inspection of fishing vessels entering and leaving ports, monitoring output through ports; confirming and certifying the origin of aquatic products, in 2023, the Provincial Fishing Port Management Board counted: 21,977 ships arriving at ports (of which 16,193 ships arrived at ports to unload seafood); 23,199 ships left ports; the total output unloaded and monitored through ports was 75,260 tons of seafood of all kinds. From October 1, 2023 to March 15, 2024, the Provincial Fishing Port Management Board counted: 6,948 ships arriving at ports (of which 5,560 ships arrived at ports to unload seafood); 7,900 ships left ports; the total output unloaded and monitored through ports was 19,573 tons of seafood of all kinds; Collected 3,160 fishing logbooks/5,560 ships arriving at the port to unload products, reaching 56.8% (Phan Thiet Fishing Port alone collected 100% of fishing logbooks); issued 21 certificates/311.6 tons of various types of seafood.

Notably, from the beginning of 2023 to now, Binh Thuan Fisheries Sub-Department has issued 131 certificates/1,553.6 tons of seafood raw materials. All certified seafood shipments have been cleared through customs, without any problems or returns.

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/ket-qua-thuc-hien-cac-khuyen-nghi-cua-ec-ve-chong-khai-thac-iuu-117759.html