Sprinting to remove IUU yellow card

Binh Dinh is one of the areas with the greatest number of fishing vessels in the country, thus it is battling for the removal of the "yellow card" since there are fishing vessels violating foreign waters.

Since 2020, 34 fishing vessels breaching international waters have been caught in Binh Dinh. In December 2022, there were seven more illegal fishing vessels in Binh Dinh detected. Two fishing vessels were seized and 18 accusations totaling VND 16.2 billion were resolved by the competent authorities.

Other deficiencies remain with the unstable VMS (vessel monitoring system) equipment, which is disconnected or interrupted while vessels stay offshore; functioning authorities have cautioned numerous ships crossing the border. Due to a severe lack of human resources, the administration at the fishing port is still poor, and it is difficult to oversee the output of all vessels when they come ashore to sell seafood.

Mr. Tran Van Phuc, director of the Binh Dinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, stated that some fishermen unlawfully sailed their vessels to international waters for their own commercial gain. Many ship owners do not actively engage in fishing, but instead rely on captains to run their vessels and conduct their own fishing operations. As a result, the captains purposely enter the waters of other nations to illegally exploit seafood in order to maximize output.

Remarkably, all fishing vessel owners who violate foreign waters are required to complete disembarkation procedures at fishing ports outside the province, which are concentrated in the South and do not return to their land, making it difficult for the competent authorities to carry out propaganda and regulation dissemination to these objects.

Before a possible EC inspection, Binh Dinh authorities tasked the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development with addressing each and every issue recommended by the EC in order to remove the "yellow card."

Until October 10, relevant authorities in Binh Dinh will work with local governments to track and finalize the issuing of fishing licenses for all local fishing vessels. Binh Dinh has issued fishing licenses to 4,841 out of 5,815 fishing vessels so far.

Binh Dinh agriculture sector will also locate all VMS equipment on fishing vessels 15 meters or longer, as well as increase monitoring signals of the VMS on fishing vessels in order to identify fishing regions, docking locations, and offshore vessel information.

The authorities of Binh Dinh demanded that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development direct the administration board of the fishing port to increase management of fishing vessels entering and exiting the port, closely inspecting the loading and unloading of seafood to the port, and monitoring and confirming the origin of product at the port in accordance with regulations.

In-province and out-of-province IUU staff rigorously check and regulate ships arriving and disembarking. Strengthening information connections with southern provinces, where Binh Dinh fishing vessels operate, in order to better coordinate and manage the fleet of "exile" fishing vessels at fishing ports and to receive and address development issues in a timely manner.

According to Mr. Nguyen Tuan Thanh, Standing Vice Chairman of Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee, provincial leaders have instructed the Binh Dinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in coordination with relevant departments, agencies, and coastal localities with offshore fishing vessels, to focus on very specific solutions and exert maximum effort to overcome outstanding problems in the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.

"We have directed the Binh Dinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to establish inspection teams and send them on field trips to localities, particularly Cat Minh commune, Cat Tien town, and Phu Cat district, where there are numerous IUU-infringing fishing vessels, in order to remove obstacles to preventing fishing vessels from violating IUU", Nguyen Tuan Thanh, vice chairman of the provincial people's committee of Binh Dinh province, stressed on the need of enhancing communication to enable fishermen to comprehend that fishing in foreign seas not only impacts themselves and their families but also the economy and the country's image.