Building "Fisheries Culture" among fishermen

In 2025, Quang Ninh will take strong and synchronous actions in strictly implementing the Central Government's directives on combating IUU fishing, improving the effectiveness of fisheries management and protecting sea and island sovereignty. At the beginning of the year, the Provincial People's Committee issued Plan No. 20/KH-UBND dated January 20, 2025 on planning, management, conservation and exploitation of aquatic resources until 2030, with a vision to 2050. This plan sets specific goals and has a clear roadmap for expanding the area of ​​marine reserves and coastal areas, in line with the goal of reaching 6% of the natural area of ​​Vietnam's sea as set out in the national project in Decision No. 1539/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister.

The dissemination of fisheries law was carried out vigorously with 58 meetings and direct exchanges with 4,117 fishermen, along with 7,493 leaflets, zoning maps and fishing logs... in the first quarter of 2025; thereby helping people to grasp the regulations against IUU fishing.

Brigade 169, Naval Region 1 organized propaganda on the Fisheries Law and gave gifts to fishermen exploiting aquatic and marine products in the waters of Co To district. Photo: Nhat Minh (Contributor)

Regarding fishing vessel management, by the end of March 2025, the province had a total of 6,208 vessels, of which 1,898 were under 6m in length, 3,560 were from 6-12m and 750 were from 12m and above. The licensing rate reached 90.8% for vessels under 6-12m; 99.47% for vessels over 12m. The VMS system has been installed for all 267 vessels ≥ 15m. The rate of updating vessel owner data (CCCD/CMT) on Vnfishbase has also improved, up to 90.3% so far.

In particular, activities to conserve and regenerate aquatic resources have been promoted, bringing many positive signals for the recovery of marine ecology, towards a sustainable development of the fisheries industry. Not only stopping at propaganda or encouraging fishermen to reduce fishing intensity, the province has proactively implemented systematic and sustainable activities.

Notably, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has proposed priority tasks, solutions and projects to realize this orientation in the province, including preparing a dossier to establish a new Co To - Tran Island Marine Protected Area - an area with a valuable endemic coral and aquatic ecosystem that needs strict protection.

Conservation practices do not stop at planning documents, but have been realized through specific actions. On the occasion of the 66th anniversary of the Traditional Day of the Vietnamese Fisheries Industry (April 1, 2025), the province organized large-scale fish release activities to restore resources. Specifically, at Yen Lap Lake (Quang Yen Town), 162,000 fish fry were released to restore the freshwater ecological balance. At Ghenh Vo Port (Hai Ha District), 280,000 marine fish fry continued to be released to restore coastal resources.

Delegates and people of Hai Ha district release aquatic species into the sea area of ​​Ghenh Vo wharf, Quang Ha town (Hai Ha) on March 28. Photo: Thanh Truong (Contributor)

Along with the regeneration, the province has also stepped up inspection, examination and handling of violations and shown a clear deterrent effect. In the first 3 months of 2025, the authorities handled 80 violations, imposing fines of more than 783 million VND. In March 2025, the Department of Agriculture and Environment alone handled 34 cases, collecting fines of 783 million VND; the Border Guard discovered 7 cases, imposing fines of 51 million VND...

Notably, the reception and response activities via the hotline for aquatic resources protection have also been maintained effectively. In the first quarter of 2023, 22 reports were received, of which 4 cases of violations were verified and strictly handled, helping to strengthen coordination between the government and people in detecting illegal fishing.

An important task in protecting aquatic resources is to control the output of fishing. Quang Ninh province is currently deploying the eCDT electronic system to control the output of aquatic products arriving at ports, thereby transparently tracing the origin according to the requirements of the EU and international markets. In January 2025, the total controlled output was nearly 13,000 tons, of which the output updated via eCDT at Cai Rong port still reached 607.5 tons. However, the eCDT electronic system still faces certain challenges such as the limited level of electronic declaration of fishermen, some fishing vessels have not been assigned to dock because Cai Rong port does not have the legal conditions to receive offshore vessels...

With the drastic participation of the entire political system, Quang Ninh is gradually building a "responsible fishing culture" - where fishermen are not only exploiters but also protectors of marine resources for the future; worthy of the ocean potential that nature has bestowed.

Thu Nguyet

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/xay-dung-van-hoa-nghe-ca-trong-ngu-dan-3353626.html