According to Resolution No. 04/2024/NQ-HDTP (Resolution 04), dated June 12, 2024 of the Council of Judges of the Supreme People's Court guiding the application of a number of provisions of the Penal Code on criminal prosecution for acts related to illegal exploitation, trading and transportation of aquatic products, effective from August 1, 2024, a number of violations of illegal exploitation of aquatic products will be criminally prosecuted. Currently, localities have been directed to immediately handle the cases from August 1, 2024.
“Strong” solutions for serious violations
According to the recent direction of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang at a meeting with coastal provinces and cities regarding the issue of combating illegal fishing, from now until August 1, localities will prepare dossiers on violations of the fight against illegal fishing so that they can be brought to trial according to the provisions of Resolution 04.
Accordingly, acts such as: leaving the country to illegally exploit aquatic resources outside of Vietnam's waters, organizing or brokering for others to exit or enter the country to bring fishing vessels and fishermen to illegally exploit aquatic resources outside of Vietnam's waters; exploiting, trading, and transporting endangered, precious, and rare aquatic resources; smuggling and illegal transportation of aquatic resources... will be prosecuted.
Criminal prosecution for the above violations only applies to masterminds, brokers, organizers of exit and entry, and repeat offenders, and does not apply to hired fishermen.
However, this is the first time Vietnam has applied strict criminal sanctions on violations in this field. Therefore, coastal localities have recently paid attention and given quite drastic direction. The dissemination of Resolution 04 to departments, businesses and fishermen has been implemented very urgently by provinces and cities.
In localities from Binh Dinh to Ca Mau, currently, the review and support of businesses and fishermen in registering, inspecting fishing vessels and equipping them with a voyage monitoring system (VMS) have all been carried out.
According to the report of the Department of Fisheries - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), up to now, 24/28 coastal provinces and cities have implemented management and supervision of fishing vessels entering and leaving ports and seafood loading and unloading output, and granted licenses for seafood shipments exported to the EU through the national electronic traceability system (eCDT). According to the plan, by August 1, all 28 provinces and cities above and 100% of fishing ports nationwide will apply the national traceability system eCDT.
Regarding the review and preparation of records of violations for possible criminal handling under Resolution 04, according to the records of the Fisheries Surveillance Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), illegal fishing in foreign waters is still occurring in many localities, and the situation of fishing vessels disconnecting from VMS for more than 10 days is still quite common. Recently, some localities such as Ha Tinh, Vung Tau, Kien Giang have collected records to handle criminal cases of violations of fishing port management, organizing illegal exit for others, and illegal use of explosives for fishing.
Mr. Nguyen Quang Hung, Director of the Fisheries Surveillance Department, said that from now until October 2024, this unit will focus on all solutions to prevent and minimize the situation of fishing vessels violating foreign waters, and resolutely and thoroughly handle violating fishing vessels.
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| Most localities have disseminated to businesses and fishermen measures to prevent and sanction illegal fishing activities. |
Administrative fines are enough to deter
According to businesses and fishermen in the southern coastal provinces, the determination of the Government and ministries and localities to thoroughly handle illegal fishing is correct and consistent with the current goal of sustainable development of the fishing, seafood processing and export industry.
On the business side, Mr. Phan Tan Duc - owner of a small seafood trading business in Ca Mau said that currently, the administrative fines for violations of illegal fishing are not light. For example, Decree 38/2024/ND-CP currently stipulates that if there is a violation of exploitation in foreign waters, the entire fishing vessel will be confiscated, with a very heavy fine, sometimes up to more than 2 billion VND.
Mr. Duc said that this is a large amount of money, sometimes the entire fortune of a fisherman's family or small business. "Therefore, for fishermen and businesses that do honest business, making a living from shrimp and fish at sea, no one wants to violate and be punished," Mr. Duc said.
According to Mr. Pham Quoc Su, Deputy Director of the Department of Justice of Ca Mau province, currently, not counting cases that must be prosecuted for criminal liability, the current strict regulations on administrative sanctions have already had a deterrent effect on fishing and seafood exploitation enterprises and fishermen.
However, according to some experts, the implementation of criminal sanctions for illegal fishing under Resolution 04 needs to be cautious, due to the nature of this field involving many different issues. In addition, the implementation of policies at the grassroots level may have many loopholes, creating disputes that negatively affect negotiations to remove the "IUU yellow card" for Vietnam's fishing and seafood exploitation industry.
Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/triet-de-xu-ly-hinh-su-vi-pham-khai-thac-hai-san-trai-phep-153531.html
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