Hai Phong initiates the peak action month against IUU fishing

The Hai Phong People’s Committee has issued Plan No. 281/KH-UBND to implement the Peak Action Month against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and promote sustainable fisheries development.

According to statistics, Hai Phong currently has 809 active fishing vessels. However, management remains a challenge, as some vessels have yet to complete documentation, fail to display registration numbers properly, or disconnect their vessel monitoring systems (VMS), not to mention the loose control over port entry and exit.

To address these issues, the Chairman of the Hai Phong People’s Committee assigned the Department of Agriculture and Environment as the lead agency to oversee key tasks, including inventorying, classifying, registering, and licensing fishing vessels that meet operating standards. The department is also responsible for listing vessels that do not qualify for operation to ensure all registered fishing boats have identification numbers and markings as required by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (formerly the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development).

The city will introduce policies to support occupational transition and dismantling for inactive vessels, assist fishermen in upgrading or maintaining VMS connections, and strengthen port monitoring. Authorities will inspect vessel departures and arrivals, supervise seafood unloading, especially at private ports, and deploy an electronic catch documentation and traceability system (eCDT) across all ports.

The city police are tasked with cross-checking and updating fishing vessel data, such as owner information and vessel identification, into the national fisheries database (VNFishbase) and linking it with the national citizen database (VNeID).

The Hai Phong Border Guard Command will assign centralized mooring areas, publicly post vessel lists within local communities, seal non-operational vessels, and ensure that fishing gear is removed. Designated personnel will monitor all moored vessels deemed unfit for operation.

Regular patrols and inspections will be carried out across coastal and island waters, estuaries, and inshore fishing areas to detect and handle IUU violations until the conclusion of the European Commission’s fifth inspection mission.

As for the People's Committees of communes, wards, and special zones with fishing vessels, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Hai Phong City requested coordination in inspecting and sealing fishing vessels that do not meet the requirements, arranging centralized anchorage, and periodically reporting on the operating status. Localities also need to announce the opening and operation of fishing ports, and arrange resources for inspection and control as per regulations.

The city chairman also requested the Departments of Justice, Finance, Science and Technology, Construction, and Public Security to work together and synchronously implement management, traceability, and violation handling work.

By designating clear responsibilities for the implementation of Peak Action Month, Hai Phong demonstrates its determination to improve fisheries management, correct existing shortcomings, and work toward lifting the EC’s “yellow card,” paving the way for sustainable seafood exports.

Hai Phong has been taking strong measures to counter IUU fishing in line with Directive No. 32-CT/TW dated April 10, 2024, issued by the Party Secretariat on enhancing the Party’s leadership in combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and promoting sustainable fisheries development, along with the Prime Minister’s resolutions and directives, documents from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, and guidance from the City Party Committee and People’s Committee.

Accordingly, the city has consolidated its Steering Committee to continue leading and directing IUU prevention and control efforts. The Department of Agriculture and Environment has reorganized the Fisheries Inspection and Monitoring Office, while communes with fishing vessels have established local IUU prevention steering committees.

To strengthen port supervision, Hai Phong will officially open state-invested fishing ports and review existing private ports for licensing and operation to meet fishermen’s unloading needs. City leaders have also directed relevant agencies to compile a list of local seafood purchasing facilities for management purposes. These facilities are only allowed to operate within officially licensed ports and are prohibited from buying seafood caught by vessels outside port control zones. All fishing vessels must complete port entry and exit procedures and unload catches at designated ports, as well as check in and out through Border Guard stations in accordance with the law.

Hai Phong also requires VMS equipment suppliers to coordinate inspections and guide fishermen to install equipment connections to regular and stable power sources on fishing vessels and handle situations where fishing vessels lose VMS connection while operating at sea. The authorities will organize 24/7 duty and fully utilize VMS functions to monitor, supervise, detect, warn, and notify fishing vessels that lose connection or exceed the permitted fishing boundaries at sea to ship owners, captains, law enforcement agencies at sea, and competent agencies where the vessels return to shore to impose penalties according to regulations.