Efforts to eliminate 'three no' fishing boats

The EC inspection team will come to Vietnam to conduct the 5th inspection on overcoming the IUU "yellow card" (in October 2024). Localities are making efforts to eliminate "three no's" fishing vessels (no registration, no fishing license, no route monitoring) and strictly comply with international requirements.

Efforts to implement IUU

By September 2024, Binh Thuan was one of the provinces that achieved many encouraging results in the control and management of fishing vessels. The province had granted registration to 6,170 fishing vessels, of which 4,308 had been granted valid fishing licenses, accounting for 71.2%, which demonstrated the locality's efforts to comply with international regulations on fishing. The province had also completed the installation of vessel monitoring equipment (VMS) for 1,941 fishing vessels with a length of 15 meters or more, reaching 100%, helping authorities monitor the activities of fishing vessels and ensure compliance with regulations on fishing.

Fishermen's fishing boats in the waters of An Thoi, Phu Quoc City (Kien Giang). Photo: VNA

Recently, Binh Thuan has also strictly punished cases of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Since the beginning of the year, the province has punished 283 cases of violations, with a total fine of more than 2.5 billion VND... gradually contributing to preventing illegal fishing activities, ensuring the sustainable development of the fisheries industry.

Khanh Hoa province is also a “bright spot” in effectively implementing IUU, with 100% of fishing vessels entering and leaving ports being inspected and controlled. All 3,177 fishing vessels in the province have been registered (100%); 3,116 vessels have been licensed to exploit aquatic products (98%) and 648/650 fishing vessels with a length of 15 m or more have installed voyage monitoring equipment...

Mr. Tran Hoa Nam, Vice Chairman of Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee said: The province has drastically implemented measures to combat IUU fishing in the two peak months (July - August 2024); maintaining the achieved results and ensuring that no violations arise in the coming time...

Expectations and challenges

Vietnam is facing a golden opportunity to remove the EC’s “yellow card” warning. However, to achieve this goal, localities need to continue to make more drastic efforts in combating IUU fishing, not only to protect aquatic resources, but also to enhance Vietnam’s reputation and position in the international arena.

Despite many achievements in combating IUU fishing, coastal localities are still making efforts to eliminate the number of “three no” fishing vessels that still exist. For example, in Binh Thuan, supporting fishermen in registering fishing vessels and issuing fishing licenses is a top priority of the province.

In Khanh Hoa, to control fishing vessels at high risk of IUU violations, Mr. Le Van Hoan, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Khanh Hoa, said that the locality is managing the fleet, tracing the origin of exploited seafood through eCDT software; building a policy to support satellite subscription fees for ship owners to maintain connection with the voyage monitoring device (VMS)...

The authorities have also been mobilized to closely monitor the activities of fishing vessels and prevent violations from the root. As a result, violations have been controlled and significantly reduced in recent times.

Sharing about the tasks to combat IUU fishing that need to be implemented immediately, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said that compared to the previous 4 assessments, Vietnam has achieved relatively positive results. In the coming time, the work to combat IUU will strengthen communication and education, and handle administrative violations in accordance with Directive 32-CT/TW. In addition to the direction of State management agencies and law enforcement agencies, Vietnam still has to strengthen propaganda so that fishermen understand that Vietnam has integrated into the international economy, Vietnamese products are sold to nearly 180 countries and territories, so they must comply with market principles, regulations, and international standards.

It can be seen that preparing for the EC inspection is not only the responsibility of localities, but also the common task of the whole country. The success of this inspection will help Vietnam avoid sanctions from the EC, creating favorable conditions for the sustainable development of the seafood industry.

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