'Thinking really, speaking really, and doing really,' determined to remove the IUU 'yellow card' in 2024

Recently, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien and MARD's delegation had a working session with the Tra Vinh Provincial Party Committee on combating IUU fishing, making efforts to remove the EC's "yellow card," and implementing aquaculture infrastructure projects at the locality.

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said that the work against IUU fishing mainly revolves around three tasks: fleet management, traceability equipment monitoring, and review of unregistered vessels.

MARD's leader emphasized that it is necessary to strengthen these tasks to achieve the goal of removing the "yellow card" in 2024. At the same time, Tra Vinh is asked to focus drastically on working together with the Ministry to achieve the goal.

There are gaps in management

According to the leader of the Tra Vinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province has issued guiding documents to implement the EC's recommendations and strengthen the fight against IUU fishing. As of now, Tra Vinh has not recorded any cases of violations of seafood exploitation in foreign waters.

Regarding fishing vessel management, the province has fully updated the registration, inspection, and exploitation licensing information of vessels on the VNFishbase system, completing 100% of the plan. The province has also installed cruise monitoring equipment (VMS) for 248 vessels in operation, reaching a rate of 100%. Vessels that are no longer operational or damaged are listed for monitoring.

Tra Vinh also organized 24-hour fishing vessel monitoring and stored monitoring data. Since October 2023, Tra Vinh has recorded 146 vessels losing VMS connection for more than 6 hours, 2 vessels losing connection for more than 10 days, and 17 vessels losing connection for more than 6 months. These cases have been checked and handled according to regulations.

In controlling vessels entering and leaving the port, the Fisheries Inspectorate representative office supervised 2,584 vessels leaving the port and 2,342 vessels arriving according to regulations. Since the beginning of 2024, the total seafood production at the port has reached 6,550 tons. The province has also deployed eCDT traceability software at Dinh An port and Lang Chim fishing port.

"Tra Vinh is clearly aware and has high responsibility in IUU management. Directive documents from the Central Government are specifically implemented. Provincial leaders also regularly brief and strengthen the people's supervision role. The province focuses on strictly controlling activities entering and leaving the port, determined not to let 'one rotten apple spoil the barrel'," emphasized Mr. Le Van Han, Chairman of the Tra Vinh Provincial People's Committee.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Fisheries Vu Duyen Hai, fishing vessel management in Tra Vinh is highly appreciated, but the province's reports compared to the database still have limitations.

"Reports from 2023 show that only 4 cases of violations were updated into the database system, while no cases have been recorded in 2024. Although there have been 44 sanctioned violations, there are still vessels losing VMS connections without determining the cause and lacking detailed updates," Mr. Hai informed.

The delegation asked the province to focus on implementing solutions according to MARD's instructions to ensure successful removal of the "yellow card".

Determined to remove the 'yellow card'

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien acknowledged Tra Vinh province's serious efforts in combating IUU fishing. At the same time, point out that some reports are still not close to the actual situation, especially in controlling IUU violations and managing fishing vessels.

MARD's leader proposed the need to make more detailed and accurate reports, especially in monitoring vessels violating foreign waters. For large vessels, strict and transparent management measures are needed.

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien emphasized the importance of tracing the origin of each vessel, from cruise information and ship logs to compliance with port entry and exit registration regulations.

"Units must closely follow the requirements for monitoring, traceability, and sanctioning administrative violations. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development needs to commit to doing correctly and doing really to achieve the goal of removing the 'yellow card.' The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development carefully reviews the instructions from the Ministry to report to the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial People's Committee," the Deputy Minister requested.

MARD's leader also expressed joy about the improvement of infrastructure in Tra Vinh and said that the Ministry is considering projects with new capital sources to support agricultural development, especially in fisheries, irrigation, and aquaculture. 

Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Tra Vinh Provincial Party Committee Kim Ngoc Thai requested the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to complete arising issues before November 15, especially reporting specifically the location of unregistered vessels and solving the situation of 26 vessels that have not yet connected monitoring equipment.

"Currently, only 18% of the exploitation output is managed, which has not met the requirement. The Department needs to clarify issues that are still unclear. Agricultural officials who still do not understand the process need to be fully trained," Mr. Thai emphasized.

Tra Vinh province currently has 1,120 registered fishing vessels. Fishing licenses have also been issued to 1,100 qualified vessels. 20 unqualified vessels are listed for monitoring, including ones without safety certificates, damaged ones, and ones out of operation.