Removing the IUU yellow card: The leader must be held accountable

Regarding removing the IUU yellow card, the Politburo has also had a Directive. The remaining issue is how to lead, direct, and organize implementation.

Talk much, check a lot, efficiency has not been yet high

On the afternoon of September 18, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien led MARD's working delegation to inspect the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Quang Tri.

According to the report of the Steering Committee on Combating IUU Fishing in Quang Tri province, the whole province currently has over 2,600 fishing vessels with a total capacity of approximately 148,000 CV. Of these, 186/188 fishing vessels have been installed with cruise monitoring equipment. The rate of registered ships reaches over 86%.

As of now, Quang Tri has issued fishing licenses to 483/776 fishing vessels; marked 755/776 fishing vessels; updated data on VnFishbase registering 671/776 vessels, licensing 579/776 vessels, and inspecting 279/297 vessels. The total number of fishing vessels issued with valid food safety certificates is 177/188 vessels. The number of fishing ports with valid food safety certificates is 2/3.

Quang Tri has no fishing vessels that have been arrested for illegal fishing in foreign waters. Fishing vessels that do not participate in fishing, do not install cruise monitoring equipment, and are at high risk of violating IUU fishing are all listed and sent to competent agencies.

In the first 9 months of 2024, the functional force of Quang Tri province fined 46 violations with an amount of over VND 300 million.

However, in Quang Tri, registering fishing vessels, issuing fishing licenses, issuing food safety certificates for fishing vessels and fishing ports, and installing cruise monitoring equipment have not yet reached 100% as required. Fishing vessels with a length of 6 m - less than 12 m in coastal areas have not been able to monitor exploitation output and submit fishing reports. Operating in the wrong areas still occurs. Losing VMS connection at sea happens frequently. Handling fishing vessels violating VMS connection loss at sea is still difficult. Ship owners and captains' declaration on the electronic catch documentation and traceability (eCDT) system since July 1, 2024 has not yet reached 100%.

Fishery infrastructure is not synchronized. Cua Viet and Cua Tung fishing ports are investing in repairs and upgrades, affecting the arrival and departure of fishing vessels. The work of patrolling, controlling, and handling violations at sea by the fisheries surveillance force still faces many difficulties.

The entire province still has 346 "3 no" fishing vessels. Since the 4^th inspection, the situation of fishing vessels with a length of 15 m or more losing VMS connection and crossing the boundary still occurs, partly due to the Thuraya T3 satellite error.

Loose control of fishing vessels

After checking the law enforcement according to the EC's recommendations at the Fisheries Inspection and Control Office at Cua Viet Fishing Port, members of the working delegation said that, in recent years, Quang Tri has made many efforts to remove the IUU yellow card.

However, seafood traceability is not specific; the number of fishing vessels losing connection for more than 6 hours is large but not punished, so there will be no evidence, while handling VMS violations is very important. Many records in the mining log are similar, have similar handwriting, and have the ability to cope. Fishing vessels docked at the port showed many errors on the dossier but were still allowed to dock.

There is a situation where ships go to sea but there is no output. The results of handling violating vessels are very low, despite many violations; activities in the Con Co Island Marine Protected Area mainly take place only in the strict sub-zone, etc.

At a working session with the Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien commented that fishing vessel management in some localities, including Quang Tri province, is going down. This is because the organization and implementation of fleet management and supervision are not strict and drastic. This issue requires specific accountability of each branch and of the leader of the party committee. The issue of traceability cannot be a formality but must go into substance.

"In the general market, it is compulsory to comply with the regulations, and it is impossible to keep checking like this. We have awareness, but action has not yet come. We must join hands and work together. Actions need to be more drastic. If the entire political system gets involved, we will definitely be able to remove the IUU yellow card," emphasized Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien.

Mr. Ha Sy Dong, Vice Chairman of the Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee, also admitted that law enforcement according to the EC's recommendations in Quang Tri is not serious and drastic. In the coming time, Quang Tri will assign, review, evaluate, and handle the responsibilities of organizations, individuals, leaders, etc.; build an ocean economic development plan commensurate with the potential; and hope that the Central Government will pay attention to investing resources to develop the ocean economy.

On a business trip to Quang Tri, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien also inspected the reality of the response to tropical depression and storm No. 4 that is at risk of making landfall. According to a report from the local government, as of the late afternoon of September 18, 100% of ships in Quang Tri province had safely entered anchorages to avoid storms. Response work to tropical depression and storm No. 4 is being proactively deployed by the locality.