Region I fishery patrols delpoyed, aims to overcome IUU yellow card

On February 16, the Region I Fisheries Control Department held a ceremony to deploy patrol and surveillance missions in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin from Quang Ninh to Thua Thien - Hue.

Reporting on the plan to deploy troops to perform patrol duties in 2022, Mr. Do Duc Du, Deputy Head of the Operations Department, Region I Fisheries Control Department, said that in 2022, the Department is assigned 17 patrol points at sea and in February, the unit will patrol in the Gulf of Tonkin with 2 fishing boats KN106 and KN108.

“According to the plan, the patrol of the KN106 and KN108 squadrons lasts from February 16 to March 2. The personnel participating in the patrol are officers and fisherman inspectors of the professional department of the Region I Fisheries Protection Department and the crew, a total of 37 people", Mr. Do Duc Du informed.

Regarding the patrol area, the squadron of 2 fishing boats will depart from base, travel along the designated route on the Gulf of Tonkin and operate in the offshore waters from Quang Ninh to Thua Thien - Hue.

The purpose of the patrol is to perform regular and continuous tasks in the assigned waters, to strengthen the presence of the fishery control force at sea.

Patrol ships will inspect and control fishery activities at sea to detect, prevent and handle violations in the fisheries sector.

Additionally, inspect and handle fishing vessels that violate regulations on safety, operate in the wrong area, wrong route, unregistered, use prohibited fishing methods..., check and prevent foreign fishing vessels from illegally exploiting the waters under Vietnam's sovereignty", emphasized Deputy Head of the Operations Department, Region I Fisheries Control Department.

In addition, the patrol boats of the fishery control force also contribute to propagandizing and mobilizing fishermen to comply with the provisions uner the law on fisheries as well as support so that fishermen can safely go offshore and remain at sea for production, ensuring order, safety and security at sea.

After listening to the patrol plan, Mr. Nguyen Phu Quoc, Deputy Director of the Fisheries Control Department (General Department of Fisheries), said that this patrol is an important task in 2022, which contributes to the removal of the IUU yellow card given by the European Commission (EC).

According to Mr. Quoc, there are currently a number of foreign ships violating the waters west of the demarcation line on the Gulf of Tonkin, under Vietnam's sovereignty, to illegally exploit fishery products.

Therefore, in the process of patrolling, inspecting and controlling, the Deputy Director of the Fisheries Control Department suggested that the ships concentrate, propagate, remind as well as promptly handle violations and if there are cases beyond their competence, it is necessary to quickly report to the Department for a solution.

With domestic fishing vessels, the Gulf of Tonkin is a fishing area for fishermen from Quang Ninh to Quang Ngai. Therefore, the patrol team needs to strengthen inspection and handling of administrative violations in the fisheries sector, especially with ships over 15m in the Gulf of Tonkin in order to contribute to removing the EC's IUU "yellow card".

"During the patrol and control process, in addition to ensuring professional work, the ships need to ensure the prevention of Covid-19, ensure the health of the crew and complete the task," said Mr. Nguyen Phu Quoc.