Thoroughly grasp and implement the Secretariat's Directive on combating illegal fishing

On the afternoon of April 22, the Central Party Secretariat held a conference in person and online to disseminate and implement Directive No. 32-CT/TW dated April 10, 2024 on strengthening Party leadership in combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and sustainable development of the fisheries sector.

The Central bridge was chaired by comrades: Truong Thi Mai - Politburo member, Permanent member of the Secretariat, Head of the Central Organization Committee; Nguyen Trong Nghia - Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Propaganda Department; Tran Luu Quang - Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister; Le Minh Hoan - Member of the Party Central Committee, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Attending at the Nghe An provincial bridge were comrades: Thai Thanh Quy - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation; Nguyen Van Thong - Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Hoang Nghia Hieu - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee.

Also attending were members of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, the Provincial Party Executive Committee; secretaries of districts, cities, towns, and affiliated Party Committees; representatives of leaders of departments, branches, sectors, the Fatherland Front, socio-political organizations of the province and central agencies and units located in the province; members of the Provincial Party Inspection Committee; members of the provincial IUU Steering Committee...

The conference was broadcast live to the district, city and town party committees: Vinh City, the towns of Cua Lo, Hoang Mai and the districts of Quynh Luu, Dien Chau, Nghi Loc and more than 100 coastal communes.

NGHE AN PROPOSALS TO RESEARCH AND PROMULGATE REGULATIONS, REGIMES AND POLICIES ON PROVINCIAL-LEVEL FISHERIES CONTROL FORCE

In recent years, the fisheries sector has continued to develop, becoming a key economic sector, with a total annual output of over 9 million tons, contributing about 30% of the GDP of the agricultural sector; aquatic products are exported to 170 countries and territories, ranking third in the world; creating jobs for millions of workers, making an important contribution to socio-economic development and protecting the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the sea and islands of the Fatherland.

However, the development of Vietnam's fisheries industry is not sustainable, has not removed the "Yellow Card" warning from the European Commission (EC), and has not fully complied with regulations against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

In that context, the Secretariat issued Directive No. 32-CT/TW dated April 10, 2024, setting out four groups of key and urgent tasks for Party committees, Party organizations, authorities, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and socio-political organizations to promote the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, ensuring sustainable development of the fisheries sector.

At the conference, delegates listened to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan disseminate the contents of Directive No. 32-CT/TW; Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang presented the Action Program of the Government Party Committee to implement Directive No. 32-CT/TW.

Leaders of a number of ministries, branches and localities have presented their work to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

At the Nghe An provincial bridge, on behalf of the provincial leaders, comrade Hoang Nghia Hieu - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee affirmed: Nghe An identifies the task of combating IUU fishing as a very important and urgent task. Doing this task well will contribute to removing the "yellow card" for Vietnamese seafood, while ensuring the development of a green and sustainable seafood industry.

Thereby, the leaders of Nghe An province reported to the conference on the direction and implementation of the task of combating IUU fishing and the main results achieved related to the contents of managing fishing fleets; monitoring and supervising fishing vessels at sea; monitoring unloading output, and handling violations in fishing.

Up to now, 100% of Nghe An fishing vessels operating have installed voyage monitoring devices. The number of fishing vessels installed is 1,054/1,086 (reaching 97.05%), the remaining 32 are currently on shore and not operating.

The Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance organizes 24/7 shifts to monitor and supervise fishing vessels operating at sea. Notify fishing vessels that lose their connection signal for more than 6 hours at sea, or exceed the permitted sea boundary, to relevant agencies and units for verification, clarification and handling according to regulations.

In 2023 alone, the authorities have sanctioned 161 vessels for administrative violations/VND 714.5 million. From the beginning of 2024 to now (April 16, 2024), 26 vessels have been sanctioned/VND 437.8 million; of which, 19 fishing vessels were sanctioned through information from the Fishing Vessel Monitoring System.

However, one of the current difficulties of Nghe An in implementing the fight against IUU fishing is that the provincial Fisheries Surveillance force is still lacking and weak. The province currently has 2 fisheries surveillance ships, 7 civil servants and 10 labor contracts.

At the conference, on behalf of the provincial leaders, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Hoang Nghia Hieu proposed that the Central Government study and have specific regulations on the provincial Fisheries Surveillance force as well as policies and regimes for this force.

“Currently, the Fisheries Law and the Government Decree state that the provincial Fisheries Surveillance force is proactively established by the province. However, the regime and policies of this force have not been clearly stated, so the province is facing difficulties,” said Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Hoang Nghia Hieu.

DETERMINED TO REMOVE EC'S "YELLOW CARD" THIS YEAR

Concluding the conference, Comrade Truong Thi Mai - Politburo member, Standing member of the Secretariat, Head of the Central Organization Commission acknowledged and highly appreciated the determination of ministries, branches, especially of relevant localities in implementing Directive No. 32-CT/TW of the Secretariat and the Government's Action Program.

Emphasizing the negative consequences and impacts of the EC “yellow card” on the sustainable development of our country’s fisheries sector and its impact on the image, prestige and position of Vietnam, Standing member of the Secretariat Truong Thi Mai emphasized that the Central Government and localities need to have sufficient awareness and the right determination to implement the goals, tasks and solutions of Directive 32; to overcome the challenges to remove the EC’s “yellow card” this year.

"I believe that although there are many challenges, with full awareness and drastic action, the EC's "yellow card" can be removed," said comrade Truong Thi Mai.

However, according to him, combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is just the beginning. In the long term, we must focus on restructuring the fishing industry towards transparency, responsibility and sustainability.

At the same time, pay attention to creating suitable livelihoods to improve the lives of fishermen and workers; have policies to preserve and develop aquatic resources in the long term; on that basis, enhance the image, position and prestige of Vietnam.

“That is the primary responsibility of the Party, the State, the political system, agencies, and localities directly for the country's development and the lives of fishermen; at the same time, it is also the responsibility of fishermen, fleets, and fishing cooperatives for their own lives and the country's development,” the Standing Secretariat emphasized.

The Standing Member of the Secretariat requested that Party committees, Party organizations, agencies and units promptly commend agencies, organizations, localities, units and individuals that have well implemented the Party's guidelines and policies and the State's laws; at the same time, they must regularly inspect, supervise and promptly remind organizations and individuals who have not strictly complied.

That process focuses on creating consensus, caring for and supporting the lives of fishermen and related workers, encouraging fishermen and workers to actively participate and contribute to implementing the policies of the Party and State; but it is also necessary to protect the legitimate and legal rights of fishermen.

“I hope that Directive No. 32-CT/TW of the Secretariat and the Government's Action Program will be put into practice; the yellow card will be removed this year; the fisheries industry will continue to develop rapidly and sustainably, and fishermen will have an increasingly better life,” said comrade Truong Thi Mai.