Positive results from Ca Mau province's campaign against IUU fishing

Mr. Tran Quoc Lam, Chairman of the People's Committee of Song Doc town, Tran Van Thoi district, Ca Mau province commented: "People's awareness has increased significantly as a result of the government's efforts in combating IUU fishing through propaganda, advocacy, and the participation of officials, civil servants, and workers in administrative sanctions against violations. As a result, Ca Mau province has seen positive results from its fight against IUU fishing".

According to Mr. Lam, the effective management of fishing vessels has contributed greatly to the fight against IUU fishing. Most notably, the local government has promoted the monitoring and management of fishing vessels at high risk of IUU fishing violations.

The People's Committee of Song Doc town has organized propaganda on the district radio station and broadcast it on portable speakers in different neighborhoods since the beginning of 2023. Furthermore, the town has coordinated with Song Doc Border Guard Station and Battalion 42 under the Region 4 Coast Guard to distribute pamphlets, hand over 210 national flags, and promote information directly to fishing vessels.

Regarding the installation of the vessel monitoring system, Song Doc town has installed the system on all of its 720 fishing vessels. There are currently 61 fishing vessels that are late for registration as recorded by the town's database.

Vice Chairman of Ca Mau Provincial People's Committee Le Van Su commented on the province's coordination activities with neighboring provinces: "Ca Mau province has carried out multiple coordination activities since the beginning of 2019 through various protocols signed with the provinces of Ben Tre, Binh Thuan, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, and Kien Giang. These activities focus on the management of vessels engaged in fishing activities at sea. The province is also coordinating with Kien Giang province to promulgate a joint protocol on controlling fishing vessels' activities, authenticating raw materials at docking ports, and certifying the origin of caught seafood.

Ca Mau's functional forces detected and sanctioned 62 cases of fishing violations to serve as a deterrent. The sanction amount totals up to nearly 1,660 million VND, with IUU fishing violations accounting for 35 cases and 1,294 million VND; vessel monitoring violations accounting for 9 cases and 641 million VND. All of the violations have been strictly handled in accordance with the law.

All of the IUU fishing violations are updated into the monitoring and management software for handling administrative violations in the fisheries sector. In addition, the province is investigating and handling  several cases where fishing vessels hide their monitoring equipment.

According to the Vice Chairman of Ca Mau Provincial People's Committee, the province will continue to strictly control fishing vessels entering and leaving its ports; strengthen control of unregulated fishing activities at sea. Namely, the vessel monitoring system must be routinely inspected to ensure its operation. Additionally, the system must also be sealed within the hull before the fishing vessel departs to operate at sea. On the other hand, the province will establish a local fishing control force to meet actual demands. Ca Mau province currently has approximately 4,280 fishing vessels, 1,555 of which are equipped with the vessel monitoring system.

On another note, Ca Mau province recently discovered nearly 100 new aquatic species after three years of artificial reef construction. Accordingly, the province recorded the appearance of 62 species of fish, 15 species of crustaceans, and 20 species of molluscs.

According to the project on "Releasing artificial reefs to protect and regenerate aquatic resources in combination with tourism development in the waters of Ca Mau province", the Government of Thailand assisted the province in releasing 900 blocks of concrete reefs into the sea as shelters and breeding zones for various marine species.