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Unified awareness, drastic action in removing IUU "yellow card"

Báo Tài nguyên Môi trườngBáo Tài nguyên Môi trường17/10/2024


Thống nhất nhận thức, hành động quyết liệt trong gỡ 'thẻ vàng' IUU- Ảnh 1.
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha asked leaders of ministries, sectors and localities to unify their awareness and implementation of measures to remove the IUU "yellow card", not only to participate in the European market, but also to develop a sustainable seafood industry - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

Previously, on the afternoon of October 16, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha visited and encouraged fishing boat owners and fishermen at Song Doc fishing port (Song Doc town, Tran Van Thoi district, Ca Mau province), as well as grasped the situation of compliance with regulations on combating IUU.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasized that removing the IUU "yellow card" will help Vietnam's seafood industry develop sustainably, participate in proactive integration, and avoid technical and trade barriers when exporting to large markets such as Europe.

The problems raised by the IUU "yellow card" include shortcomings in the legal system, management, fishermen's awareness, as well as the depletion of fishing grounds.

Local leaders need to be frank, honest, scientific , and open-minded to accurately assess and find out the reasons why after 7 years the IUU "yellow card" has not been removed, and there is still a potential risk of increasingly high-level violations, extremely sophisticated, even of a transnational nature.

"We need to come up with a comprehensive solution not only to remove the 'yellow card', but also to improve exploitation efficiency, while protecting and developing marine resources in fishing grounds," the Deputy Prime Minister said, emphasizing that if fishermen continue to go to sea while fishing grounds are depleted, IUU violations cannot be completely resolved.

Therefore, the role of the State is very important in planning, assessing fishing resources reserves, determining the season, exploitation areas during the year, and the number of fishing vessels operating accordingly, thereby having mechanisms and policies to guide and support fishermen to invest in production or change careers.

"Ministries, sectors and localities must approach the problem in a practical way. If they say it, they must do it. The proposed measures must be clear, transparent, methodical, and have scientific thinking based on practical experience; things that localities can do, and issues that need central support in terms of resources, mechanisms and policies," said the Deputy Prime Minister.

Thống nhất nhận thức, hành động quyết liệt trong gỡ 'thẻ vàng' IUU- Ảnh 2.
Deputy Prime Minister talks with fishermen at Song Doc fishing port, afternoon of October 16 - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

Some anti-violation tasks are slow to fix

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said that, besides the achieved results, there are still some tasks to combat IUU violations that are slow to be overcome.

Specifically, the situation of fishing vessels violating illegal fishing in foreign waters continues to be complicated. Since the beginning of 2024, 61 vessels/418 fishermen have been arrested and processed by foreign countries, an increase of 12 vessels/16 fishermen compared to the same period in 2023 (49 vessels/402 fishermen). Domestic authorities have detected, arrested and processed 19 vessels violating illegal fishing in foreign waters.

The situation of illegal fishing vessels is becoming increasingly sophisticated, such as: Using fishing vessels under 15 m in length without VMS equipment; intentionally turning off VMS when operating near bordering waters; or intentionally sending or transporting VMS equipment on other fishing vessels.

The implementation of regulations on registration and licensing of fishing vessels has not yet been completed, with only 89% of fishing vessels registered and updated on the national fisheries database; the issuance of valid fishing licenses has only reached about 74.1%.

Currently, the country still has 9,322 "3 no" vessels (unregistered, uninspected, unlicensed). The situation of buying, selling, transferring, and changing ownership of fishing vessels without carrying out procedures for deregistration and re-registration of fishing vessels within the province and between provinces still occurs frequently.

Currently, the whole country only monitors and supervises about 40% of fishing vessel activities entering and leaving ports, about 30% of exploited aquatic products are monitored through ports; some localities monitor exploited aquatic products at less than 5%, such as Quang Binh, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Nghe An, etc.

The situation of fishing vessels operating in the wrong area occurs frequently, in large numbers; especially in the northern provinces, such as Thai Binh, Nghe An, Ha Tinh... and provinces with a large number of trawlers, such as Ben Tre, Tien Giang, Binh Thuan, Kien Giang, Ca Mau, Ba Ria-Vung Tau...

There are still cases of fishing vessels that do not meet the conditions still entering and leaving ports to participate in fishing activities; there continue to be cases of fishing vessels not docking at ports to unload exploited aquatic products in many localities.

Law enforcement and handling of IUU violations are still very low, inconsistent and uneven among localities; in some localities, fishing vessels with signs of IUU violations move to places that lack strict control and supervision by authorities to dock at ports to unload seafood, enter and exit ports, and enter and exit ports for fishing activities.

The penalty rate is still very low compared to the total number of detected violations, especially in handling illegal exploitation, violations of VMS equipment, crossing maritime boundaries, violations of illegal exploitation, exploitation logs, etc.

Thống nhất nhận thức, hành động quyết liệt trong gỡ 'thẻ vàng' IUU- Ảnh 3.
Thống nhất nhận thức, hành động quyết liệt trong gỡ 'thẻ vàng' IUU- Ảnh 4.
Thống nhất nhận thức, hành động quyết liệt trong gỡ 'thẻ vàng' IUU- Ảnh 5.
Thống nhất nhận thức, hành động quyết liệt trong gỡ 'thẻ vàng' IUU- Ảnh 6.

Delegates share experiences and recommend immediate actions to combat IUU violations - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

Completely handle '3 no' ships, strictly manage ships under 15 m

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recommends focusing resources to prevent and end illegal fishing in foreign waters, especially in the provinces of Kien Giang, Ca Mau, Binh Dinh, etc.

Localities urgently complete the work of fleet management, registration, inspection, issuance of fishing licenses, marking of fishing vessels, and thoroughly handling "3 no" fishing vessels; strictly control fishing vessels entering and leaving ports, and monitor the output of exploited aquatic products; urgently and seriously implement the electronic traceability system (eCDT); and resolutely handle criminal acts of legalizing documents for shipments exported to the European market.

At the meeting, delegates shared experiences and recommended immediate actions: Clearly define responsibilities in managing fishing vessel operations at fishing ports and at sea; support ship owners in purchasing VMS equipment; manage the quality of VMS equipment; handle vessels operating in the wrong areas or on the wrong routes, etc.

Chairman of Tien Giang Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van Vinh said that the criminal handling of some IUU violations has greatly affected the awareness and thinking of ship owners and fishermen. However, Vice Chairman of Ca Mau Provincial People's Committee Le Van Su proposed adding some specific occupations such as squid fishing and tuna fishing that must install VMS even though the size is not enough 15 m as prescribed.

Vice Chairman of Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Tuan Thanh proposed strict management of fishing vessels under 15 meters in length, not having to install VMS equipment; having a specialized department to support and provide information about fishing vessels arrested in foreign waters so that local authorities have a basis for handling domestically.

Regarding the management of "3 no" fishing vessels, the leaders of Ben Tre and Ca Mau provinces said that this is the responsibility of the locality; they recommended that the National Steering Committee should direct a simultaneous review to classify and handle it thoroughly by the end of November 2024. Vice Chairman of Ca Mau Provincial People's Committee Le Van Su shared his experience in creating data for fishing vessels at high risk of IUU violations, connecting fishing ports to share information on fishing vessels entering and leaving.

Representatives of the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the fisheries surveillance force, and the Border Guard of Ca Mau province discussed and clarified a number of local recommendations, such as providing information on fishing vessels detained abroad; managing fishing vessel activities at sea; controlling fishing vessels entering and leaving ports; criminally handling IUU violations, etc.

Lieutenant General Pham Truong Son, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, said that the most important thing is to strictly manage fishing vessels right at the port. Local authorities, the army, and the police must be a unified bloc, assigning clear and specific tasks to each functional force, from propaganda to controlling and monitoring fishing vessel activities, and handling violations, according to the principle of "1 job, 1 person is responsible".

Thống nhất nhận thức, hành động quyết liệt trong gỡ 'thẻ vàng' IUU- Ảnh 7.
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha commented on the coordinating role of the fisheries control force in managing fishing vessels operating at sea; reviewing sanctions to strictly handle IUU violations, especially the responsibilities of ship owners and captains... - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

Immediately carry out urgent tasks and solutions

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha requested leaders of ministries, branches and localities to unify their awareness and implementation of measures to remove the IUU "yellow card" not only to participate in the European market, but also to develop the sustainable fisheries industry, ensure long-term benefits and livelihoods, ensure the safety of fishermen's lives and property, and at the same time implement the Party and State's major policy on developing the marine economy associated with protecting the country's sovereignty over seas and islands.

The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out a number of major shortcomings and problems, such as: Not being able to fully control fishing vessels, especially "3 no" vessels; unclear responsibilities of functional forces in managing fishing vessel activities from river mouths to fishing ports and at sea; regulations on management and handling of fishing vessels, violating vessel owners and the organization of implementation are not close to reality; the installation and use of VMS equipment does not clearly define the responsibilities of enterprises providing equipment and services as well as vessel owners.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested ministries, branches and localities to review and seriously implement Directive No. 32-CT/TW on strengthening the Party's leadership in combating IUU fishing and sustainable development of the fisheries sector; review responsibilities, leadership methods and implementation direction, "considering this a priority political task".

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development clarifies the shortcomings, weaknesses, causes, tasks, and urgent, immediate solutions for illegal fishing in foreign waters without declaration.

By November 2024, localities must complete the registration and management of 100% of fishing vessels in the area, leaving no "3 no" fishing vessels.

The Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development coordinate, urgently connect, and share with localities and functional forces (border guards, fisheries surveillance, coast guard, navy) to use the database on registered fishing vessels, integrate with the national database on population, as well as the activities of all fishing vessels at sea.

The Deputy Prime Minister also commented on the coordinating role of the fisheries control force in managing fishing vessels operating at sea; reviewing sanctions to strictly handle IUU violations, especially the responsibility of ship owners and captains, "close to reality, reasonable, emotional, clear, transparent to both deter and prevent"...

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reviews the administrative procedures for inspecting fishing equipment and vessels, with the spirit of "feasibility, practicality, science, and safety assurance"; researches and proposes mechanisms and policies to support ship owners in purchasing and installing VMS equipment; has sanctions to handle acts of intentionally interrupting signals, or sending and transporting VMS equipment on other fishing vessels as acts of encroachment on public property; provides VMS equipment repair services at sea.

The Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Fisheries Surveillance Department to build a high-profile campaign in coordination with law enforcement forces to control all "3 no" fishing vessels and fishing vessels with deleted registration numbers.

The Ministry of Public Security directed the police force at the grassroots level to coordinate with the agricultural sector and commune and ward authorities to review unregistered fishing vessels, update the database, and inspect them.



Source: https://baotainguyenmoitruong.vn/thong-nhat-nhan-thuc-hanh-dong-quyet-liet-trong-go-the-vang-iuu-381748.html

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