Nghe An: More than 70% of offshore fishing vessels over 15m long have installed voyage monitoring equipment
(Baonghean.vn) - Complying with the regulations of the Fisheries Law on the installation of GPS tracking devices, Nghe An has made many efforts to mobilize fishing boat owners to install them to go offshore to catch seafood according to regulations.
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| Officers of the Fisheries Sub-Department guide and support fishermen in completing procedures before going out to sea to catch aquatic and marine products. Photo: Nguyen Hai |
As of June 14, 892 out of 1,257 fishing vessels with a length of 15m or more in Nghe An have installed GPS tracking devices as prescribed, reaching a rate of 70.9%. With this rate, Nghe AnTop in the country in installing journey monitoring equipment.
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| Checking fishing papers at sea and disseminating new regulations of the Fisheries Law to fishermen at Lach Con estuary (Quynh Phuong ward, Hoang Mai town). Photo: NH |
Previously, according to Article 50 of the Fisheries Law, fishing vessels with a length of 15m or more must install GPS when fishing offshore, in which, vessels with a length of 24m or more must install a journey monitoring device before July 1, 2019 and vessels with a length of 15m to 24m must install a GPS device before April 1, 2020. However, by April 1, only over 50% of vessels with a length of over 15m in Nghe An had installed GPS, so the Department of Agriculture continuously sent working groups to the area to propagate and mobilize ship owners to install GPS devices according to regulations.
In parallel with installing and sealing GPS devices on offshore fishing vessels, the Fisheries Department continuously urges and reminds that any vessel owner who installs GPS devices early will be given favorable conditions to complete registration and inspection procedures early to go offshore, and any vessel that does not maintain a 24/7 signal will be warned.
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| The offshore fleet of Quynh Luu district is anchored at the southern bank of Lach Quen port. Photo: Nguyen Hai |
It is known that currently, because the Department of Fisheries, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department of Finance are presenting policies to support people in installing equipment, the authorities are creating conditions for people to go fishing and have not yet imposed fines, but in the long term, they will impose heavy fines and not allow fishing boats to go to sea.
According to the proposal, if approved by the Provincial People's Committee and People's Council, 807 fishing boats over 15m long in the province will be supported with 50% of the cost of installing GPS equipment, equivalent to VND 8,750,000/boat.
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| Dialogue and propaganda for fishermen in Son Hai commune, Quynh Luu district about installing GPS devices on fishing boats of 15m or more in mid-May 2020. Photo: Contributor |
Nghe An currently has 1,257 offshore fishing vessels of 15m or longer, of which 229/232 vessels of 24m or longer have GPS installed and 1,025 vessels of 15 to 24m have GPS installed from January 1 to June 14. Quynh Luu district has the largest offshore fishing fleet in the province with 544 vessels, Hoang Mai town has 403 vessels, Dien Chau has 252 vessels and the rest are Cua Lo town and Nghi Loc respectively.
From January 1, 2020 to June 14, 2020, 175/232 fishing vessels with a length of 24 m or more, with 1,789 fishing vessels losing connection signals at sea, of which 55 vessels with 72 lost connection at sea for more than 10 days. In the immediate future, after April 1, 2020, vessels that have not installed GPS are being granted permission to go to sea and are only being warned, but in the long term, when operating at sea, they will be severely punished by authorities when inspected.
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| Offshore fishing boats in Quynh Lap commune, Hoang Mai town, after completing procedures, are heading out to sea for offshore fishing. Photo: Nguyen Hai |
A representative of Nghe An Fisheries Department also said: Of the remaining 365 vessels over 15m in length that have not installed GPS equipment, except for some unproduced vessels that have to stay ashore and fishermen who have not installed equipment, the Fisheries Department is continuing to remind people to fully install GPS equipment according to regulations.
Fishing vessels with a length of 15m or more when fishing offshore without GPS installation will not be allowed to register, inspect and be licensed to leave port; ifTurning off GPS devices while fishing at sea without a valid reason will not be supported according to regulations.. If fishing activities are detected by authorities, depending on the level of violation, the minimum fine will be from 300 million to 500 million VND; level 2 is from 500 million to 700 million VND and level 3 is from 800 million to 1 billion VND.
(Excerpt from Article 20, Decree 26/2019/ND-CP).