Creating a breakthrough in law enforcement and inspection of fishing vessels operating at sea by 2024

Chairing from the central bridge in Kien Giang province was comrade Tran Luu Quang - Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister. Also attending were representatives of ministries, branches, associations and bridge points of 28 coastal provinces and cities.

Comrade Nguyen Van De - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee chaired the Nghe An bridge. Also participating were representatives of departments and branches who are members of the Provincial IUU Steering Committee; People's Committees of districts and towns; Border Guard Stations and coastal wards and communes.

Opening the conference, on behalf of the Standing Committee of the National IUU Steering Committee, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quangemphasized the need to convene an urgent meeting to prepare for the 5th inspection by the European Commission (EC) in the coming months. The reason why the National IUU Steering Committee had to go to Kien Giang to chair the conference is because this is one of the hottest spots for IUU violations, thereby directly inspecting and listening to local reports in the most substantive way, finding effective solutions to overcome the situation of illegal fishing and IUU violations.

Since the 4th inspection by the EC, 17 ships/190 fishermen have been arrested and processed by Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, of which only 11/17 ships have been identified, with the most being Kien Giang with 6/11 ships, Ca Mau with 3/11 ships, and the rest being Tien Giang and Quang Ngai; 6/17 ships have not been identified as belonging to any province due to using fake registrations or having their registrations deleted.
In addition, from the beginning of 2023 to now, 64 ships with 550 fishermen nationwide have been arrested and processed by foreign countries; the most of which are in Malaysia, followed by Thailand and Indonesia. Currently, the authorities have only verified 36/64 ships, with Kien Giang, Ca Mau and Binh Dinh being the most; the remaining 27/64 ships have not been verified as belonging to any province because the fishing vessels violated the registration or had their registrations erased.

(According to the Report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development at the working session)

A report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that fleet management has not been ensured according to regulations, and monitoring and control of fishing vessel activities in some localities is not uniform.

There are currently about 15,198 "3 no" fishing vessels nationwide; the situation of fishing vessels being bought and sold, and the transfer of ownership between localities is not strictly controlled; some localities have not seriously implemented the construction and conversion of fishing vessels, and the purchase and sale of fishing vessels without written approval from competent authorities as prescribed; the situation of fishing vessels violating the disconnection regulations is still common with about 5,000 vessels losing connection from 2023 to present; the situation of fishing vessels violating fishing activities in the wrong area in large numbers.

Along with the northern provinces, Nghe An is one of the provinces where fishing boats often lose connection signals, but the authorities are still few in handling the situation...

At the conference, representatives of several coastal provinces and ministries and sectors presented some outstanding results in handling IUU violations in recent times. Based on some difficulties and causes, ministries, sectors and provinces also reported on expected directions and solutions to overcome them in the coming time.

At the forum, Mr. Nguyen Van De - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee gave a speech, presenting the results of the inspection and handling of IUU violations in the past. Based on the detailed report on handling the situation of fishing vessels losing connection to VMS route monitoring in the past, the province has organized a review of the responsibilities of relevant organizations and individuals, including reviewing the group of vessels losing connection to VMS in 2023, if it is still within the statute of limitations, it will be handled; at the same time, strictly handle the vessels losing connection in 2024.

Currently, based on the review, the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district has issued a decision to fine 3 fishing boats that lost VMS signals at sea with the amount of 64 million VND.

Concluding the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang commended some localities for their drastic actions in recent times; agreed with the proposals of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as well as representatives of some ministries, sectors and localities.

To demonstrate the determination to remove the yellow card in 2024, in the coming time, along with the early approval of 2 amended Decrees on handling administrative violations in the fisheries sector, the Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security and localities to launch a peak inspection period until April 2024 to investigate, prevent and handle IUU violations; resolutely take action to control and minimize fishing vessel violations; strictly handle VMS connections from the beginning of the year without exception, creating a breakthrough in law enforcement; direct law enforcement agencies and forces to thoroughly apply measures right from shore to promptly detect early and from a distance to promptly prevent fishing vessels and fishermen with signs of illegal exploitation in foreign waters.

Basically agreeing with the proposal of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Deputy Prime Minister suggested that in the next 3 months, the Ministry should take advantage of the time to strengthen inspection and supervision in localities; request to launch a peak period of law enforcement and patrol; the Border Guard should prioritize inspection and control of fishing vessel activities at sea, at ports, at river mouths, seaports, and islands in the area; localities should take advantage of the Lunar New Year holiday to strengthen propaganda and mobilize fishermen; closely monitor the output of exploited aquatic products, thoroughly handle violations in the work of confirming, certifying and tracing the origin of exploited aquatic products, paying special attention to fishing vessels providing logistics for catching aquatic resources.../.