Workers lose their jobs, ships are grounded, and fisheries inspection work at sea in Nghe An is paralyzed.

Suspension of fishing control vessel operations

On March 27, 2024,Department of Fisheries and Fisheries SurveillanceReport No. 48/BC-CCTSKN on the temporary suspension of fishing control vessel operations sent to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The content is as follows:

“To carry out the tasks of patrolling, inspecting, controlling and protecting the development of aquatic resources in the sea areas, the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance is assigned 2 fisheries surveillance ships (KN-688-NA and VN-93967-KN) and 2 accompanying high-speed boats. According to the provisions of Circular No. 22/2018/TT-BNNPTNT dated August 15, 2018 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on fishing vessel crew and fisheries service vessels, the 2 fisheries surveillance ships of the Department must be assigned 26 crew members (of which the KN-93967-VN ship needs 09 crew members, the KN-688-NA ship needs 17 crew members).

Due to limited funding, the unit has contracted 10 workers to perform jobs according to their titles on 2 fisheries inspection vessels (captain, deputy captain, chief engineer, mechanic, sailor) to operate these fisheries inspection vessels. These workers have been contracted by the unit for many years and are paid from the annual state budget for aquatic resources protection.

In 2024, the Provincial People's Committee assigned 44 positions to the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance (including 28 civil servants, 10 public employees and 6 contract workers serving under Decree 111/2022/ND-CP). The number of workers (10 people) working on the above-mentioned fisheries surveillance vessels is not included in the assigned number of positions, so it is impossible to pay wages to the workers (implemented in the first 3 months of 2024 with a total payment of 234.5 million VND).

To ensure the safety of state assets and pay wages to workers, the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control reports and asks for opinions from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on a number of issues:

- Mobilize fishing control vessels to anchor at the boat anchorage of Hai Chau Shipbuilding One Member Limited Liability Company (Trung Do, Vinh City, Nghe An) to ensure safety during inactivity at sea.

- Do not continue to sign contracts with 10 workers on 02 fishing control vessels from April 1, 2024 (the term of previous contracts is until March 31, 2024).

The Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance reports and respectfully requests the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghe An to give comments, direction and guidance.

According to Mr. Tran Nhu Long, Head of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control, explaining this content, the Department is the leading unit in the fight against illegal and unregulated fishing. To carry out this extremely heavy task, the Department simultaneously deployed many working groups, including an interdisciplinary team working onshore to inspect fishing ports, fishing wharves, etc.; while the underwater team patrols and inspects fishing activities in coastal and offshore areas with a length of 82km of the province's sea. And the 10 workers mentioned in the report are the operators of fishing control vessels, according to job titles such as captain, deputy captain, chief engineer, mechanic and sailor.

However, due to current problems with personnel working on the two ships, the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance has had to temporarily suspend operations at sea, keep the ships ashore, and report and ask for direction from the superior, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

“As soon as there was no source to pay wages for 10 workers on the fisheries surveillance vessel, the Sub-Department also reported to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department of Home Affairs to advise the Provincial People's Committee to resolve this issue. Recently, the Provincial People's Committee issued a document announcing the conclusion of Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van De at the working session of the Inspection Team on activities against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the province at the end of March 2024. In which, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van De assigned the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department of Home Affairs to advise the Provincial People's Committee on a plan to arrange personnel for the fleet..." - Head of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance Tran Nhu Long discussed.

Paradox

Regarding the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and the removal of the European Commission's (EC) "Yellow Card" warning, from November 4, 2023, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed an Official Dispatch on focusing on implementing urgent and key tasks and solutions sent to central ministries, branches and People's Committees of coastal provinces and centrally run cities. The content of the Official Dispatch clearly states the following shortcomings:

“The situation of fishing vessels violating illegal fishing in foreign waters continues to occur; Law enforcement at the local level is still not uniform, the responsibility of some organizations and individuals in performing their duties is still very limited, there is a delay in investigating, verifying and handling IUU fishing violations; especially violations of illegal fishing in foreign waters, sanctioning violations of regulations on VMS disconnection, and crossing maritime boundaries; Fleet management, monitoring and control of fishing vessel activities are not drastic and strict enough to ensure compliance with regulations; Traceability of exploited aquatic products is still weak and has many shortcomings. If the above shortcomings and limitations are not promptly resolved, the risk of being raised to a "Red Card" warning is very high”.

Regarding the cause, it was clarified that “due to the subjectivity of many relevant management agencies, especially some localities, have not seriously, thoroughly and comprehensively implemented the assigned tasks and solutions. Heads of authorities at all levels, departments, branches and functional forces in the localities have not upheld their responsibilities in leading, directing and organizing the implementation of the instructions of the Standing Secretariat, the Government and the Prime Minister”.

And among the key and urgent tasks and solutions that the Prime Minister directed to implement, there is the content: "Ensure resources, funding, arrange qualified and professional staff, promptly complete the work of overcoming shortcomings and limitations in the fight against IUU fishing; resolutely and strictly handle organizations and individuals who, for their own benefit, deliberately commit illegal acts that affect national interests and the country's image in the international arena".

Citing the Prime Minister's directive, Mr. Tran Xuan Nhue, Chairman of the Trade Union of the Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance Department, asked him to evaluate the capacity and quality of professional activities of the 10 workers on the 2 fisheries surveillance vessels. It is known that these are people who have been working on the 2 fisheries surveillance vessels for a very long time. Some have worked for at least 10 years, some have worked for over 20 years, and all are experienced at sea.

Union Chairman Tran Xuan Nhue said: “Going to sea is not something that can be done in a day or two. These jobs require an understanding of the waterways, waves, machinery, special equipment on the ship and experience in handling situations at sea. To train someone who can use and operate a ship at sea takes a lot of time, not overnight. It can be understood that this is a special profession, requiring a lot of skills and experience. Therefore, recruiting a new team to meet the current task requirements is impossible, not equal to the existing workforce. These people are performing their duties well on the ship…”.

Meanwhile, according to Head of the Fisheries Control Department Tran Chau Thanh, over the years, the 10 workers on the two fisheries control vessels have not only operated the vessels, but have also actively participated in detecting, preventing, and handling fishing vessels that violate the law and illegally exploit seafood.

“In the work of patrolling the sea, there have been many incidents that have endangered the bodies and lives of these workers. They are the ones who carry out the task of controlling fisheries at sea. Therefore, as soon as we learned about this reality, we were very disappointed…” - Head of the Fisheries Control Department Tran Chau Thanh said in tears.