Concerns about issuing policies to support the purchase of voyage monitoring equipment for fishermen

Delegates at the discussion session in the hall in the working program of the 15th session, Nghe An Provincial People's Council, term XVII, 2016 - 2021, taking place on the morning of July 21.Photo: Thanh Cuong

Regarding the proposal to issue the "Resolution on the policy of supporting funding for purchasing journey monitoring equipment and supporting service subscription fees for journey monitoring equipment installed on fishing vessels", delegate Hoang Nghia Hung (Nam Dan district) said: According to the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents, the Resolution of the Provincial People's Council is not allowed to prescribe administrative procedures. The Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents, which has just been passed by the National Assembly, allows the regulation of administrative procedures in the Resolution of the Provincial People's Council, but the Law has not yet come into effect (it will come into effect on January 1, 2021). It is recommended that the Provincial People's Council and People's Committee consider this content in the draft resolution.

Responding to this issue, Mr. Nguyen Van De - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said that according to the Fisheries Law and Decree No. 26/2019/ND-CP, fishing vessels of fishermen with a maximum length of 15m or more must install voyage monitoring equipment before April 1, 2020. At the same time, the cost of installation, maintenance and related services will be paid by the people themselves.

Mr. Nguyen Van De - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development responded to delegates' opinions at the discussion session. Photo: Thanh Cuong

However, the price of each set of monitoring equipment installed on a fishing boat ranges from 17 to 23 million VND, not including the monthly subscription fee of 240,000 to 484,000 VND/month. Due to the difficult living conditions of fishermen, most fishermen have not yet completed the installation and use of this equipment.

Meanwhile, installing a voyage monitoring device on fishing vessels is one of the urgent solutions to remove the yellow card as required by the European Union. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the seafood consumption market is difficult, so fishermen's investment is very difficult; the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has sent a document requesting provinces to support fishermen and create favorable conditions for removing the yellow card of the European Union.

Fishing fleet in Quynh Luu - Nghe An. Photo courtesy of PV

Therefore, the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said that including administrative procedures in the draft Resolution will create conditions for fishermen to go offshore and create conditions to remove the yellow card according to international law.

Delegate Thai Thi An Chung speaks at the discussion session. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Regarding the regulation of administrative procedures in the Resolution of the People's Council, delegate Thai Thi An Chung said that the National Assembly has passed the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents, the Law allows the Provincial People's Council to regulate administrative procedures when issuing resolutions to prescribe measures of a specific nature. Although the law takes effect from January 1, 2021, in the context of fishermen facing many difficulties due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the implementation of urgent solutions to remove the yellow card as required by the European Union, it is extremely necessary to include administrative procedures in the draft Resolution.

Delegates also proposed to review some types of documents in Article 5 and Article 6 to avoid duplication and simplify procedures, creating favorable conditions for beneficiaries when making documents to receive support. Specifically, the issuance of a Certificate of Fishing Vessel Registration; a Certificate of Technical Safety of Fishing Vessel is a mandatory document when applying for a Fishing License according to the provisions of Decree No. 26/2019/ND-CP detailing a number of articles and measures to implement the Law on Fisheries...

Mr. Nguyen Van De - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the Department will receive and edit this content.

Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Council Cao Thi Hien chaired the discussion session. Photo: Thanh Cuong

After listening to the opinions of the delegates and the response of the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Council Cao Thi Hien said: The Resolution on the policy of supporting funding for purchasing voyage monitoring equipment and supporting service subscription fees for voyage monitoring equipment installed on fishing vessels is extremely important to support fishermen in going offshore and complying with the provisions of international law. Although the law takes effect from January 1, 2021, the adoption of this Resolution is extremely necessary.