Strict penalties to address IUU hotspots in the Southwest coastal region

Solutions to enhance the effectiveness of patrols, inspections, controls, and enforcement of fisheries laws on anti-IUU fishing in the Southwest coastal region was the focus of a conference organized by the Region 5's Sub-Department of Fisheries Surveillance at its headquarters in Phu Quoc city, Kien Giang province.

The conference was attended by Mr. Nguyen Quang Hung, General Director of the Department of Fisheries Surveillance, as well as leaders from the Region 5's Sub-Department of Fisheries Surveillance, Region 5's Naval Forces, Region 4's Coast Guard, Kien Giang province's Border Guard Command, Phu Quoc City People's Committee, Ca Mau Province's Sub-Department of Fisheries, Kien Giang province's Sub-Department of Fisheries Surveillance, An Thoi Fishing Port, among others.

Promotion campaigns in combination with inspections 

The Southwest coastal region and a portion of the Southeast region provide a stable and diverse source of seafood, serving as a traditional and critical fishing ground for Vietnamese fishermen. Accordingly, local fishing activities have significantly developed over the years, with a fleet of over 15,000 fishing vessels and a total capacity exceeding 3.0 million horsepower, contributing to over 50% of the national fishing output.

Primary fishing grounds within the region are located in: Western Phu Quoc, Southwestern Nam Du, Western Hon Chuoi, Southeastern Hon Khoai, the waters of Tho Chu, waters beyond Ca Mau province, from Ca Mau Shoal to the overlapping waters with Malaysia and waters bordering Indonesia.

The Region 5's Sub-Department of Fisheries Surveillance has conducted and completed 10 out of 15 planned patrols, inspections, and controls at sea since the beginning of 2023. The Sub-Department utilized a total of 10 Fisheries Surveillance vessels and 180 days of operations. Notably, patrol teams on Fisheries Surveillance vessels have inspected 498 vessels engaged in fishing activities in the Southwestern coastal area.

The density of fishing vessels operating in the vicinity of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the historically delineated waters between Vietnam and Cambodia is relatively high, with significant fishing intensity and a diversity of fishing methods. The Southwestern coastal fishing grounds are also known for IUU fishing activities.

The Region 5's Sub-Department of Fisheries Surveillance has recently collaborated with relevant agencies to strengthen the promotion of fisheries laws among fishermen. Namely, they have coordinated with border guards and stations under Phu Quoc City to promote awareness regarding anti-IUU fishing, fire safety aboard fishing and surveillance vessels in the jurisdiction of Kien Giang province.

In addition to these awareness campaigns, the fisheries surveillance units have increased patrols, inspections, and penalties for administrative violations. As a result, administrative penalties for fisheries violations have been imposed on 46 Vietnamese fishing vessels, totaling nearly 500 million Vietnamese dong. Additionally, one fishing vessel that committed a severe offense has been processed for administrative penalties according to the regulations.

Despite these efforts, the violation of fisheries law in the Southwestern coastal region has risen rapidly, particularly in the offshore areas and the bordering regions of Vietnam - Thailand - Malaysia, the overlapping waters between the borders of Vietnam - Indonesia - Malaysia, the bordering waters of Vietnam - Thailand, and the historically delineated waters between Vietnam and Cambodia. Numerous illegally operating fishing vessels in foreign waters have been apprehended, controlled, and managed.

More effective solutions are needed

Due to the vast expanse of fishing grounds, which include waters bordering and overlapping with several neighboring countries, and due to the recent shift from unregulated small-scale fishing to controlled and responsible fishing, the mission imposed on law enforcement agencies as well as the Region 5's Sub-Department of Fisheries Surveillance, poses considerable challenge.

With the aim of enhancing the effectiveness of patrols, inspections, control measures, and the enforcement of fisheries laws on anti-IUU fishing, the Region 5's Sub-Department of Fisheries Surveillance has coordinated with the Provincial People's Committees of Ca Mau and Kien Giang, the Region 5's Naval Force, and Region 4's Coast Guard to carry out joint inspections of fishing vessels at sea and combat IUU fishing in the designated areas under their respective management responsibilities.

The collaboration with the Region 5's Naval Force was aimed at constructing and implementing plans to combat IUU fishing activities. This initiative includes regular exchanges of information, situation reports, coordination for handling and resolving related incidents. It also involves sharing information to implement the Prime Minister's directive in preventing local fishing vessels and fishermen from illegally exploiting marine resources in foreign waters, as a response to the warning from the European Commission. Additionally, schedule information for vessels undertaking the anti-IUU prevention task in the Southwestern coastal regions are publicized to avoid overlap.

Numerous solutions have been discussed and unanimously agreed upon by stakeholders to enhance the efficiency of patrols, inspections, controls, and law enforcement at sea. Accordingly, there is a continuous update of data and information with regards to the fishing vessel monitoring system (VMS), an update of the list of vessels with disconnected VMS signals, vessels leaving borders, and vessels lacking legal documentation while operating at sea. These efforts are fundamental in conducting patrols, inspections, and controls at sea. They also reinforce the inspection and administrative violation handling of fisheries activities, contributing to addressing the EC's recommendations concerning IUU fishing activities.

The Region 5's Sub-Department of Fisheries Surveillance has implemented a satellite phone pilot on vessels KN 595 and KN 596 to facilitate direct communication between surveillance teams and the shore, to seek guidance from higher authorities in emergencies, and to communicate with local governments or other relevant bodies to verify information regarding fishing vessels when technical means are unavailable at sea.

Moreover, they have established and implemented a collaboration mechanism with the Region 4's Coastal Guard, Border Guard, the local Sub-Departments of Fisheries Surveilance of Ca Mau, Kien Giang and Ben Tre provinces, to exchange information, monitor fishing activities and law violations at sea, control departing fishing vessels, coordinate patrols, and handle administrative violations. Moreover, stakeholders are collaborating with the police forces to investigate and verify cases of illegal intermediary fishing activities in foreign waters.

Additionally, the Sub-Department has upgraded and standardized the database to provide data on high-risk IUU vessel to the surveillance forces, enabling real-time online command and control from the local Departments and Sub-Departments to vessels operating at sea.

During the execution of their surveillance tasks, the teams have carried out law dissemination activities on fishery exploitation and IUU regulations. They have distributed flyers to 450 fishing vessels and conducted awareness campaigns for fishermen regarding illegal fishing activities in foreign waters. Furthermore, they have provided 300 national flags to fishing vessels operating in the patrolled and surveilled areas of the sea.