Nationwide, 99.8% of fishing vessels are registered and updated in the national fisheries database.
On the afternoon of October 28th, in Hanoi, the National Steering Committee on Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing held an online meeting to assess the results of tasks performed during the last week of October.
Presiding from the Hanoi location was Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, Head of the National IUU Steering Committee. Also attending were representatives from ministries and agencies, and representatives from 22 coastal provinces and cities with fishing vessels.
At the Nghe An branch, Comrade Nguyen Van De - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee - chaired the meeting. Also attending were representatives from departments, branches, and units that are members of the Provincial IUU Steering Committee.
On behalf of the National Steering Committee on IUU (Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated) Fishing, the leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment reported on the implementation of the Prime Minister's directives at last week's meeting. Accordingly, ministries and agencies have been implementing their assigned tasks. Specifically, the Ministry of National Defense has completed 3 out of 9 tasks and is currently implementing 6; the Ministry of Public Security has completed 6 out of 11 tasks and is currently implementing 5; the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has completed 13 out of 24 tasks and is currently implementing 11; the remaining ministries are carrying out their assigned tasks. Local authorities are implementing all 18 tasks.
As of October 27th, the country had 80,273 fishing vessels, of which 80,132 were registered and updated in the national fisheries database, accounting for 99.8%, a decrease of 466 vessels compared to the previous week. In addition, 77,017 out of 80,132 vessels (96.11%) were licensed nationwide; 500 vessels had their registrations cancelled. During the week, border guard stations at ports processed entry and exit procedures for 12,589 vessels/16,876 vessel movements, and no additional Vietnamese fishing vessels or fishermen were recorded being detained or prosecuted by foreign countries; one additional case of violating foreign waters was penalized, and nine new cases/10 defendants were prosecuted.
At the conference, representatives from ministries, departments, and coastal localities with fishing vessels also reported on the results of handling several cases; the difficulties encountered in the process of penalizing and prosecuting fishing vessel owners who violated regulations; discrepancies in fishing vessel data and cases handled between ministries; and the legal basis for localities to establish solid case files for handling violations…
In Nghe An province, based on the tasks assigned by the National Steering Committee, the province has completed 9 out of 19 tasks and is implementing the remaining 10. Specifically, along with allocating sufficient resources to decisively combat IUU fishing, the province has completed 100% of the classification, registration, and inspection of fishing vessels; issued and renewed licenses for 100% of eligible fishing vessels; installed VMS (Vehicle Monitoring System) devices on 100% of eligible fishing vessels; compiled a list of 18 vessels that do not meet the requirements for fishing to monitor and supervise; completed the upgrading of information technology infrastructure at ports; ensured that 100% of registered fishing vessels have their license plates and markings; and ensured that all vessels with a length of 15 meters or more participate in fishing activities and dock at ports via eCDT (Electronic Control System).
Based on reports and proposals from ministries, departments, and localities, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha shared the spirit of the weekly National Steering Committee meeting on IUU (Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated) fishing, stating that it should only report on and review achievements and existing problems and obstacles to be resolved.
The Deputy Prime Minister highly appreciated the results achieved by ministries, departments, and localities in the recent period; at the same time, he emphasized that this is a peak campaign, preparing to welcome the European Commission (EC) delegation scheduled to visit Vietnam for inspection, so it is necessary to focus and be more decisive according to the motto "clear responsibilities, clear tasks, and clear results".
Concluding the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister requested that ministries, sectors, and localities continue to review legal regulations based on positive results, transforming them into promotional and communication materials about Vietnam's involvement so that the people and international friends are aware. He requested that ministries, sectors, and localities standardize accurate, complete, clean, and viable data and reporting forms before submitting them to the EC by October 30th. He also tasked the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment with coordinating with localities to issue technical standards for fishing ports to establish a roadmap for investment and upgrading; and to continue to adhere to the tasks assigned by the Prime Minister, decisively launching campaigns and implementing them according to the set plan and objectives.
