Nghe An province fines 4 fishing vessels for violating fishing zones.
(Baonghean.vn) - Continuing its efforts to monitor and combat illegal fishing activities along the coast, on May 26th, the inter-agency inspection team of the province conducted inspections in the coastal waters of Dien Chau and Nghi Loc districts.
At noon on May 26th, during a patrol and surveillance operation, the inter-agency team discovered a pair of vessels (bearing registration numbers NA-2024-TS belonging to fisherman Nguyen Van Tan and NA-2668-TS belonging to fisherman Vu Van Manh, both residing in Dien Ngoc commune, Dien Chau district) ranging in length from 12 to under 15 meters but fishing using trawling methods in the coastal waters.
Authorities pursued the vessels and issued fines of 2 million VND to each boat.
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| The confiscated items were trawling nets that dragged along the seabed. Due to the extremely small mesh size, almost no seafood could escape once caught in the trawling net. Photo: Nguyen Hai |
Inspection revealed that the vessel, licensed for trawling, was only permitted to fish in offshore waters but was instead using a dragnet; Mr. Ngo Tri Dien's vessel, NA - 80097-TS, did not carry a fishing license or identification documents, resulting in a fine of 2.4 million VND.
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| One of the two fishing boats from Dien Chau district that violated regulations was towed to the Cua Lo Border Guard Station for processing. Photo: Nguyen Hai |
When discovered, the aforementioned boat owners cut their nets and fled, so the team had to chase after them and order them to return to retrieve the confiscated illegal goods.
After being informed and reminded, the boat owners and fishermen complied and realized their violations; the inspection team applied the lightest possible penalty and handed the decision to the Cua Lo Border Guard Station to issue the penalty.
In total, after 5 days of operation, from May 22-26, the provincial inter-agency inspection team fined 8 boat owners a total of 36.4 million VND; and educated and reminded dozens of owners of inshore and offshore fishing vessels about complying with the Fisheries Law and combating illegal fishing activities.
In addition, from the beginning of 2020 to the present, through inspections, the Fisheries Sub-Department has imposed fines totaling over 300 million VND, and coastal border guard stations in the province have patrolled and fined nearly 100 vessels engaged in illegal fishing in the coastal waters of Nghe An.