Hanoi (VNA) -  The Defence Ministry has employed drastic measures toprevent and curb illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activitiesin line with its assigned functions and tasks, heard at a meeting in Hanoi onSeptember 12.

At the meeting between the ministry and the national steering committeefor IUU fishing prevention,  the ministry reported that the border guard, coastguard and naval forces had approached 1,310 vessels at sea to educate them onIUU and distributed leaflets on the matter to 22,000 fishing vessels.

The navy has launched a support programme targeting fishermen in 28coastal provinces and cities, while the coast guard force implemented a modelof accompanyingfishermen, persuading ship owners and captains not toviolating foreign waters or fishing illegally.

The Defence Ministry’s forces coordinated with local authorities to verifyinformation on 187 cases involving 336 Vietnamese ships and 2,430 fishermen seizedby foreign authorities, and shared information on foreign fishing shipsencroaching in Vietnamese waters with relevant agencies of the ForeignMinistry, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other ministries,agencies.

The border guard force has worked closely with fishery inspectionagencies of coastal localities to strictly monitor and control the entry andexit of fishing vessels at fishing ports and operation at sea. The navy andcoastal guard force have set up hotlines with their counterparts in China,Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia for the exchange of maritime information,helping with the quick settlement cases related to fishing ships and fishermen.

The steering committee for IUU fishing prevention asked ministries,agencies and coastal localities to continue boosting communication campaignstargeting ship owners and captains, push ahead with the installation ofmonitoring devices, and strictly punish ships engaging in IUU fishing.

On October 23, 2017, the EC issued a "yellow card" warning toVietnam, after the country failed to demonstrate sufficient progress in thefight against IUU fishing.

Countries that fail to meet EC standards are given a "yellow card",followed by a "green card" if the problems are resolved, or a"red card" if they are not. A red card can lead to a trade ban onfishery products.

According to EC requirements, the Vietnamese seafood sector had to implementnine recommendations, including revisions of the legal framework to ensurecompliance with international and regional rules, applicable to theconservation and management of fisheries resources; ensuring the enforcement ofthe country’s revised laws; and strengthening implementation of internationalrules and management measures.

The EC also wanted Vietnam to issue sanctions against IUU fishing, which shouldbe written in the revised Law on Fisheries, and give concrete evidence provingVietnam’s efforts in the fight against IUU fishing./.