Implement decisive measures to combat illegal fishing.
This was a request made by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha at a meeting of the National Steering Committee on combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, held online with coastal provinces and cities on the afternoon of October 25th.
At the Nghe An branch, Comrade Nguyen Van De - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee - chaired the meeting. Also in attendance were leaders of relevant departments, agencies, and units, as well as coastal districts and towns.
At the meeting, representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development stated that since the fourth inspection in October 2023, the Central Government and the Government have issued directives and organized implementation. To strengthen the fight against IUU fishing, the whole country has launched campaigns and penalized 4,237 cases of administrative violations in the fisheries sector. However, the situation has improved very slowly and has not met the requirements of the EC's recommendations. There are still 61 fishing vessels violating foreign waters that have been detected and processed...
At the conference, in order to effectively carry out the task of preventing and combating illegal fishing in the coming period, representatives from ministries, sectors, and provinces and cities, based on the current situation, proposed solutions for implementation in the future.
In addition, localities also suggested that the system of waterways leading to and from fishing ports, and mooring areas for sheltering from storms, are frequently silted up, making it difficult for fishing vessels to enter and exit. They requested the Government to prioritize and allocate budget for investment in the construction and upgrading of fishing ports to meet the requirements of the EC...
At the conference, Mr. Nguyen Van De, Vice Chairman of the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee, on behalf of the Provincial IUU Steering Committee, briefly reported on the results of IUU implementation from the beginning of the year to date. He highlighted the outstanding results in handling vessels classified as "3 No" (no illegal fishing, no permits, no permits, no permits, no permits, no permits, no permits, no permits, no permits, no permits, no permits, no permits, no permits, no permits, no permits, no permits, and no permits). As a result, the province has registered 495 out of 615 vessels classified as "3 No," achieving 80.49%, higher than the national average. While fines totaled only over 700 million VND last year, in the first 10 months of this year, 244 vessels were fined 4.02 billion VND; port entry and exit control has been tightened, and the control of seafood throughput at ports has increased from 10% to over 40%.
Based on feedback from ministries, localities, and fisheries associations, the Deputy Prime Minister acknowledged Nghe An's efforts in setting a separate deadline for handling "ghost ships," also known as "three-no ships," earlier than the rest of the country. However, like other provinces, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized solutions to improve the rate of monitoring seafood catch through ports and control fishing vessels entering and leaving ports, as this is the most reliable solution for ensuring food safety and traceability. In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister requested ministries, agencies, and localities to focus intensely on implementing several key and urgent tasks and solutions.
Specifically, it is crucial to thoroughly understand, assign, clarify responsibilities, and seriously implement the contents and tasks of Directive No. 32-CT/TW of the Party Central Committee, Resolution No. 52/NQ-CP of the Government, and the directives of the Prime Minister; identifying this as an important, urgent task with long-term significance for the sustainable development of the fisheries sector within each agency and unit. The entire political system must be mobilized. The Deputy Prime Minister also requested that localities promptly complete the management of fishing fleets, decisively address the issue of "three-no" fishing vessels (no permits, no licenses, no permits, no proper documentation), and enhance the role of functional forces and local authorities in closely monitoring and controlling fishing vessel activities at sea and in ports.
In the coming period, it is necessary to organize a thorough review and launch a decisive campaign, ensuring serious, transparent, and legal implementation of traceability in harvested seafood. Continue to launch intensive campaigns of patrols, inspections, and controls, and resolutely enforce the law, dealing with IUU (Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated) fishing activities, determined to have the yellow card lifted within 2024.
