Quang Ngai’s effort toward the removal of EC yellow card on fishing

Problems with ship ownership and ship modifications 

Possessing nearly 5,300 fishing ships, Quang Ngai province has one of the largest fishing fleets in Vietnam. 3,350 of them are over 15 meters long, which are required to have vessel tracking devices installed. By March 2021, 81% of them, or 2,690 fishing ships complied with the regulation.

According to the Department of Fisheries of Quang Ngai Province, ships without tracking devices equipped are mostly grounded ships, numbered around 400. Some have been sold to fishermen in other provinces to pay bank debts without having their registration papers legally removed. 

Mr. Nguyen Van Muoi, the head of the department, explained that this happened because their registration papers were held by banks, thus it was not legal to remove them. There are also ships registered in Quang Ngai but operating outside the province, making it excruciating for the authorities to supervise every one of them.

He also asserted that ships without vessel tracking devices should be barred from fishing and severely penalized. Besides, it is also the responsibility of local authorities and everyone else to inform all ship owners about the new regulation. 

Low-powered (less than 90 CV) and over 15 meters in length ship is another challenge. These ships were allowed to operate inshore only, but now they are considered offshore vessels under the new regulation due to their length, therefore vessel tracking devices for them are mandatory.

Shipowners wishing their ships to be modified should immediately perform the modification before the deadline. High-powered ship (over 90 CV) with their length less than 15 meters have been modified according to the directive from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Fishing trawlers in Quang Ngai are also specially granted permission to be modified, although several obstacles within the regulation prevent a few trawlers from being registered. Trawlers need to modernize, modify, or replace their deteriorating engines to continue working. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has appealed to the People’s Committee to edit the legislation to ease this issue.

Other issues

In the last few years, Quang Ngai has seen a significant reduction in the number of ships detained for violating foreign territorial waters. Numerous educational programs against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing were put up, with thousands of participants, informing seafarers about the consequence of illegal fishing.

Despite the strict implementation of the new law, deliberate vessel tracking device disconnection still occurs sporadically. In 2020, a US$ 1,084 fine was imposed on a transgressor, and another US$ 217 fine was enforced on a shipowner, who brought the device back home in fear of robbery.

In 2020, Quang Ngai’s total seafood output was over 260,800 tons, including flying fish and tuna to be imported to Europe. This amount is only inferior to Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, and Khanh Hoa. 

Sa Huynh fishing dock (Quang Ngai) has replaced Tam Quan (Binh Dinh) as an authorized dock where tuna fishing vessels have their catches appraised for their certificates of origin (C/O). Quang Ngai has granted C/O for nearly 17000 tons of seafood to be imported to Europe. Other authorized docks are Tinh Hoa, Tinh Ky, and My A. These four harbors are still unable to meet the demand of Quang Ngai’s enormous fishing fleet, only provide enough service for 1,750 fishing vessels out of more than 5,000 ships.

Quang Ngai province has purchased necessary apparatuses to improve the quality of service offered by local fishing docks and fisheries control agencies. Quang Ngai allocated a budget of US$ 151,742 in 2020 alone, and a large amount from that fund was used to remedy Sa Huynh dock’s sedimentation problem, causing many offshore fishing trips to be stalled. Sa Huynh dock was planned to meet the demand for more than 500 high-powered ships (from 400 CV), yet in reality, only 300 inshore fishing vessels can dock there.

Mr. Dang Van Minh, the President of Quang Ngai Provincial People’s Committee authorized a US$ 130,000 emergency dredging project for Sa Huynh dock, along with a comprehensive plan to wipe illegal fishing for the eventual removal of EC’s yellow card.