On the morning of January 14, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, Head of the National Steering Committee on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU), chaired the 12th meeting of the Steering Committee in person, combined with online meetings with ministries, sectors and 28 coastal localities.
Basic solution to the '3 no' fishing boat problem
According to the report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, up to now, we have basically overcome the contents according to the recommendations of the European Commission (EC) in the 4th inspection in October 2023: Regulations on administrative sanctions for violations in the field of fisheries; handling of "3 no" fishing vessels (no registration, no inspection, no license); criminal handling of acts related to sending fishing vessels and fishermen to illegally exploit in foreign waters.
Localities have applied information technology and digitized data to monitor, manage, and update. Specifically, the number of registered fishing vessels updated on the National Fisheries Database (VN-Fishbase) reached 98.9%; all fishing vessels with a length of 15 m or more were equipped with a voyage monitoring device (VMS); the issuance of valid fishing licenses for fleets of 15 m or more reached 90.3%, but the total number of fishing vessels with a length of 6 m or more only reached 76.5%.
The number of fishing vessels that are not qualified for fishing (not licensed, not installed with VMS...), fishing vessels at high risk of violating IUU fishing have been listed, updated on the fishing vessel monitoring system and assigned to functional forces, local authorities (commune/ward/town) to monitor and manage, and regularly update anchorage locations.
Currently, the whole country still has 888 "3 no" fishing boats, according to local reports, the boats are damaged, no longer able to operate, some boat owners do not need to register to operate and some boats no longer exist locally.
Regarding the monitoring of output and traceability of domestically exploited aquatic products, 86 fishing ports and landing points have implemented the Electronic Traceability System for Exploited Aquatic Products (eCDT). The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is continuing to complete the eCDT system to organize and implement the system in a unified and synchronous manner at all fishing ports nationwide. However, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien pointed out that in reality, many fishing vessels with a length of 24 m or more are operating and anchoring at sea for long periods of time, without leaving or docking at designated fishing ports.
The inspection and control of imported aquatic products from foreign countries is fully implemented in accordance with international regulations and EC recommendations.
Localities prosecuted 39 criminal cases and brought 10 cases to public trial for the crimes of: Organizing illegal exit for others; fraudulent appropriation of property; obstructing or disrupting the operation of computer networks, telecommunications networks, and electronic devices; forging seals and documents of agencies and organizations, legalizing records; related to the act of dismantling and sending VMS equipment; illegally manufacturing and using explosives, etc.
The total amount of fines for anti-IUU violations in 2024 is nearly VND 100 billion for 4,311 cases (in 2023 it was over VND 89 billion and 4,022 cases).
Regarding activities to prevent and handle illegal fishing vessels operating in foreign waters, from August 2024 to present, functional forces have recorded 10 cases of Vietnamese fishermen being arrested and processed by foreign countries, registered in Kien Giang, Ca Mau, and Tien Giang.
Leaders of ministries, branches and localities report at the meeting - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi
Focus on strictly handling the act of disconnecting journey monitoring devices
The results of verification and handling of violations of VMS disconnection, exceeding permitted boundaries at sea, and illegal fishing in foreign waters are still very low compared to the detected cases. Specifically, in 2024, we only punished 2/847 fishing vessels that exceeded permitted boundaries at sea; 838/32,511 vessels disconnected from VMS (from 6 hours to less than 10 days and from 10 days or more).
At the meeting, leaders of Kien Giang, Ca Mau, Quang Ngai and Phu Yen provinces reported on the management of fishing vessels, handling of expired fishing licenses, violations of VMS connection loss, and illegal fishing vessels in foreign waters.
Lieutenant General Do Trong Binh, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, said that with the drastic handling of the forces in the past time, some ship owners have changed their illegal exploitation methods in foreign waters, such as not penetrating deeply, and having a short exploitation time. Lieutenant General Do Trong Binh suggested focusing on increasing penalties for VMS disconnection, clarifying the verification and handling process, and not allowing the current rate of 2-3%. Agreeing with this opinion, a representative of the Ministry of Justice said that the current fine for IUU violations and additional penalties for ship captains are enough to deter, however, the problem is the process of establishing a penalty record.
A representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that in 2024, Vietnamese representative agencies abroad supported the repatriation of about 600 fishermen after completing violations related to illegal fishing in foreign waters; transferred judgments, arrest notices of fishermen, and records of many cases back to the country.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan emphasized that if the way of doing things is not changed, there will be no change, from the way of reporting, building a seamless national fisheries management database between exploitation areas (shore, inshore, offshore); supporting private fishing ports to invest to meet the conditions for fishing vessels to enter and exit ports conveniently according to regulations...
'Where fishing boats violate, they will be dealt with there'
Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha assessed that recently, most ministries, branches and localities have achieved good results in overcoming IUU violations. Localities that have not completed their assigned tasks and goals need to seriously consider the responsibilities of each relevant department, branch, unit and individual.
The Deputy Prime Minister requested that in the first quarter of 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development must complete the synchronous, unified, and interconnected connection from the central to local levels of the National Fisheries Database (VNFishbase), the Fishing Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), and the Electronic Traceability System (eCDT).
At the same time, promulgate procedures and regulations for management, operation, updating, exploitation and use of fisheries management databases and responsibilities of parties such as management agencies, law enforcement forces, fishing ports, seafood processing and exporting enterprises, fishermen, etc. to define the management of fishing vessels by territory, "where fishing vessels violate, they will be handled there".
The process of building, updating, and connecting databases on fisheries management needs to integrate the identification of fishing vessels, captains, and citizens participating in fishing activities into the national database on population, associated with supplementing the tasks and responsibilities of the grassroots police force.
The Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to establish interdisciplinary inspection teams in the first quarter of 2025 to manage and update data on fishing vessels in localities; the responsibility of state management agencies when failing to strictly and promptly handle IUU violations; and the compliance with IUU of seafood purchasing, processing and exporting establishments.
On that basis, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reviews, proposes amendments and supplements to legal regulations to identify, fully, accurately and realistically count IUU violations; strictly handle acts related to security, national defense, and intentional violations of national territory; clearly define the responsibilities of state management agencies when failing to promptly handle or miss violations; as well as establishments purchasing, processing and exporting aquatic products of unknown origin... In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development needs to review and supplement conditions for private fishing ports to provide a number of administrative services such as updating journey data, confirming the origin of exploited aquatic products for fishing vessels entering and leaving ports...
"In addition, we need to strengthen the tools for managing marine fisheries through planning, fishing seasons, fishing methods in each fishing ground...", said the Deputy Prime Minister.
The Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and maritime law enforcement forces actively cooperate with international forces and agencies to resolve cases in accordance with the law.
Source: https://baotainguyenmoitruong.vn/quan-ly-thong-nhat-xu-ly-nghiem-minh-chu-dong-phong-ngua-vi-pham-iuu-385678.html
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