Raising awareness for fishermen to abide by IUU regulations

On March 27, the Coast Guard Command Region 4 coordinated with Soc Trang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to propagate against fishing in violations of IUU regulations for fishermen in Tran De district.

The propaganda force of the Coast Guard Command Region 4 informed fishermen about the provisions of the Law on Fisheries 2017, the Law on Vietnam Coast Guard 2018, legal documents laws, and practices against illegal fishing not following IUU regulations. The Coast Guard Command Region 4 also organized a training session for local law enforcement forces on patrolling, inspecting and consolidating records and evidence of fishing behavior in violation of IUU regulations as well as the application of legal documents law to handle violations. 

The Coast Guard Command Region 4 disseminated information about regulations on the Law on Fisheries 2017, the Law on Vietnam Coast Guard 2018 and the current situation against IUU fishing to fishermen. Photo: Kim Anh.

Fishermen in Soc Trang province are currently interested in the list of species allowed to be exploited and the methods of sanctioning and handling violations according to regulations when fishing vessels operate in waters contrary to the IUU regulations. They pay particularly close attention to information such as cases of violations when fishing vessels turn off or uninstall the cruise monitoring device, errors in recording the journey log, regulations on extension of fishing license, regulations on penalties for violations of professional qualifications and certificates for ship owners and crew members.

Thanks to the training session, fishermen in Soc Trang province have raised their awareness of compliance with the law on marine exploitation and can be more determined to join hands with fishermen nationwide to gradually remove the EC yellow card.

On this occasion, the Coast Guard Command Region 4 presented 30 gifts including money, medical bags, the national flag, and Uncle Ho's photo to fishermen in Tran De district.