Coast Guard Region 1 Command joins hands to remove EC 'yellow card'
(Baonghean.vn) - With the role of enforcing the law and accompanying fishermen in the sea and islands, the Command of Coast Guard Region 1 has proactively coordinated with functional agencies and localities to synchronously deploy measures to prevent illegal fishing.
With the role of enforcing the law and accompanying fishermen in the seas and islands of the Fatherland, in recent times, the Vietnam Coast Guard in general and the Coast Guard Region 1 Command in particular have actively and proactively coordinated with functional agencies and local authorities to synchronously deploy measures to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
As a result, fishermen’s awareness has been significantly raised, and the number of Vietnamese fishing vessels violating foreign waters to exploit seafood has decreased sharply. This has contributed to the removal of the “yellow card” of the European Commission (EC) for the Vietnamese seafood industry.
Continuously raise awareness of fishermen
Recently, Squadron 102/Command of Coast Guard Region 1 coordinated with Nghi Xuan District Youth Union (Ha Tinh), Lach Ken Border Guard Station to organize a legal propaganda campaign, focusing on IUU content for fishermen in Xuan Hoi commune (Nghi Xuan, Ha Tinh).
According to Mr. Trinh Quang Luat, Chairman of the People's Committee of Xuan Hoi Commune, the commune currently has 125 vessels operating at sea, of which 84 are equipped with engines, 16 are specialized in offshore fishing. The local fishery output in 2020 is estimated at 3,200 tons. Over the past 4 years, Vietnam's efforts to remove the "yellow card" have still encountered many obstacles because many people, for personal gain, have harmed the country's economic interests. Therefore, propaganda to raise awareness and consciousness among fishermen in complying with the law when working at sea, especially the content on IUU, is extremely important.
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| Distributing IUU propaganda leaflets to fishermen in Xuan Hoi commune. Photo: Contributor |
At Xuan Hoi fishing port, the authorities boarded each of the fishermen's boats that were on shore to conduct propaganda, distributed over 200 leaflets "What fishermen need to know about IUU", gave 100 national flags, 600 medical masks and 15 gifts, each worth 500,000 VND (including necessities such as instant noodles, cooking oil, salt, MSG) to fishermen in difficulty due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic in the commune. Fisherman Dao Van Hai shared: "With the authorities' propaganda about the law, we have more understanding, strictly comply with the State's regulations and are aware of our responsibilities when working at sea, not going to other countries' waters to catch seafood!".
The national flags and small gifts given by the authorities are words of encouragement and give people more strength when they go out to sea. The leaflets and brochures clearly and specifically state the sea areas where our fishermen are allowed to fish, the frequencies of the watchtowers so that people can contact in case of an incident at sea. All of these things are expected to contribute to helping people better understand the regulations of international and Vietnamese law when participating in fishing at sea.
We find this a very meaningful program, through propaganda work to help local authorities, especially the people and fishermen better understand the Vietnam Law of the Sea, legal regulations when participating in fishing at sea, thereby being aware of their responsibilities, contributing with the locality to strictly implement the Law on Fisheries and EC regulations!
Resolute and synchronous in implementing solutions
Along with promoting the dissemination of laws and raising awareness among fishermen about the harmful effects of illegal fishing, the Command of Coast Guard Region 1 has synchronously and drastically implemented solutions to overcome the recommendations of the EC such as: regularly maintaining on-duty systems at sea, ships on duty at island points, combining the task of protecting sovereignty while preventing foreign vessels as well as Vietnamese vessels from going to foreign waters to fish.
The Regional Command has been closely coordinating with forces such as the Navy, Fisheries Surveillance, Border Guard, and the Departments of Fisheries of 10 northern coastal provinces and cities in managing and capturing information on Vietnamese fishing vessels operating at sea. In addition, the functional forces of the Regional Command also regularly register, monitor, and notify about Vietnamese and foreign fishing vessels violating each other's waters to catch seafood through satellite tracking, positioning, and the unit's system of patrol, inspection, and control vessels at sea.
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| Presenting national flags to fishermen in Xuan Hoi commune, Nghi Xuan district |
We regularly maintain patrols, inspections, and controls in assigned sea areas and at the same time widely propagate the harmful effects of unreported and unregulated fishing to fishermen in the sea areas. During the sea patrol, any vessels that re-offend or violate, we will impose administrative penalties and notify the local authorities so that they can work with them to take measures to prevent this from happening again. From there, we will contribute to the coastal localities to properly manage fishing according to our regulations at sea. That is also the basis for the European Commission to study and withdraw the "yellow card" for the Vietnamese seafood industry!
The removal of the EC's yellow card warning not only contributes to removing the "bottleneck" of many years for the country's seafood products but is also considered a step to restore order in the management of marine exploitation in our country. With specific actions and practical work, the Command of Coast Guard Region 1 is actively and diligently working with all levels, sectors and localities to gradually contribute to effectively implementing the Government's policy in removing difficulties and obstacles for the Vietnamese fisheries sector as well as achieving the goal of developing fisheries in a safe and sustainable manner.