HCMC – The south-central province of Binh Thuan has detected and sanctioned 239 cases violating regulations against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing since the beginning of the year.
According to the provincial Agriculture and Rural Development Department, offshore fishing faced a number of challenges at the start of this year due to bad weather, fuel price increases and a lack of seamen.
In the first nine months of 2022, the seafood volume totaled 171,000 tons, 81% of the year’s target.
Moreover, the protection of aquatic resources has been enhanced with the drastic implementation of the instructions of the central Government and the province on combating IUU fishing in the lead-up to the European Commission (EC) inspection.
The province’s competent forces discovered a violation in foreign waters, while 239 cases were busted and sanctioned domestically with violations such as using unregistered vessels or prohibited fishing gear, fishing without licenses or in no-fishing zones.
As of September 15, Binh Thuan has 98.8% of fishing vessels in operation that have installed the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) equipment. As a result, the control and supervision of fishing vessels have significantly improved, especially in warning fishing vessels crossing Vietnam’s maritime boundary.
The provincial department has set a target of 210,000 tons of seafood by the end of 2022 and directed units and localities to strictly tackle the wrongdoings to catch fish and introduce hi-tech fishing logistics services, especially loading and unloading seafood at ports.
As part of the regulation against anti-IUU fishing, fishing vessels entering and leaving the port will be strictly inspected for fishing logs and the origin of the catch. At the same time, work related to anti-IUU fishing at the port will be carefully executed for the inspection of the EC team.
Besides, fishing boat owners who have yet to install VMS equipment are encouraged to ensure that 100% of fishing vessels are equipped by the end of this year.
