EC to inspect the situation of overcoming IUU ‘yellow card’ this October

The delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, headed by Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien, visited the province of Tra Vinh on August 23. Mr. Tien, who is also the deputy head of the National Steering Committee on IUU Fishing, collaborated with the Tra Vinh Provincial People's Committee on the implementation of the European Commission's (EC) recommendation regarding the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; investment in fishery infrastructure; and aquaculture situation.

Mr. Tran Van Dung, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, reported that the unit collaborated with other relevant departments, industries, and localities to disseminate fisheries laws and Directives... to prevent IUU fishing in the province.

Competent specialized forces inspect papers, grant export and import permissions, distribute samples, and direct the recording of fishing and transshipment records, as well as the fishing report. In addition, they direct the installation and activation of the vessel monitoring system (VMS). The representative office of fisheries inspection and control has supervised the departure of 1,248 vessels and the arrival of 43 vessels at the port.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development concurrently performed eleven fishery-specific inspections. Approximately 214 facilities and vehicles have been examined. It made twenty rulings to penalise offenses totaling 227 million VND. In which the mining industry had four instances involving 179 vehicles, discovered sixteen infractions, and was fined more than VND 189 million. There are currently no violation fishing vessels or unlawful fishing in international seas in the province.

Tra Vinh has addressed the deficiencies identified by the Inspection delegate during the previous inspection. In licensing fishery materials for export, the province carefully adheres to the rule, integrating the office of fisheries inspection, examination, and control. The fishing port management board has strictly adhered to the regulations regarding the loading and unloading of goods at the port, the collection and submission of fishing logs to the Subdepartment of Fisheries, and the purchase and transshipment of aquatic products.

According to the Tra Vinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, there are 1,141 fishing vessels registered in the province. There are 264 15-meter-long fishing vessels that are required to install VMS. Seventy-three vessel owners have been evaluated and authorized to assist the purchasing of VMS worth over VND 794 billion. As a consequence, 234 ships have VMS installed, representing 100 percent of all ships in service. The remaining 30 ships have not yet fitted cruise monitoring equipment as a result of deterioration, breakdown, sinking, beaching, or non-operation.

Prior to this, the MARD delegation had conducted field inspections at Dinh An fishing port (Ca Tru district) and the aquaculture area in Truong Long Hoa commune (Duyen Hai village) in order to determine the status of the implementation of the European Commission's recommendation on combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; production and management of aquaculture activities; fishing in response to the reduction of fuel prices; and marine management and preservation.

During the working session, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien told the provincial authorities of Tra Vinh about the current state and future direction of the agricultural and rural development sector, particularly the fisheries industry. In addition, the Deputy Minister praised the province of Tra Vinh's leadership and administration for addressing shortcomings in the IUU field.

The Deputy Minister ordered the province to tighten management and inspection of vessel owners in exploitation operations; comply with the ship owner's notice while entering, docking, and exporting; enhance ship owner training; and manage ships parked in locations beyond the Dinh An fishing port. Concurrently, the province was required to enlarge the marine conservation area (period 2021 - 2030), include anti-exploitation and fishing zones along the coast, along major estuaries, etc., into its planning, etc. In addition, it must endeavor to eradicate IUU fishing in preparation for the next EC field inspection in October.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Hoang, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee of Tra Vinh, said that the province would increase inspection and supervision of fishing vessels in the near future. In addition, the Committee will instruct the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to examine the work of licensing exploitation, traceability after exploitation, and the rigorous implementation of licensing for aquatic breeding operations, among other things.