Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang speaks at the 8th meeting of the National Steering Committee on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Prevention and Control in Ba Ria -Vung Tau province. (Photo:VNA) BaRia – Vung Tau (VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang chairedthe 8th meeting of theNational Steering Committee on Illegal,Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Prevention and Control in thesouthern coastal province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau on December 13.
The meetingwas connected to the headquarters of the People's Committees of 28 coastal provinces and citiesnationwide, and relevant ministries and agencies.
In his speech, the Deputy PM stressed that this is a crucialmoment for Vietnam to have the European Commission (EC)'s "yellow card" lifted, therefore, it is imperative for localities and relevantministries and sectors to join hands and take more drastic measures to fix limitations and shortcomings related to IUU fishing.
🉐 He demanded relevant ministries, sectors and localities tocoordinate effectively to pool all human and material resources to promptly have the "yellow card" against Vietnamese seafood removed.
Law enforcement agencies at sea were required to intensify patrolsand strict inspections to prevent fishingvessels from violating foreign waters. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Security wastasked with urgently investigating and prosecuting cases involved in brokerage to lure Vietnamese vessels and fishermen to illegal fishing in foreign waters.
Addressing the meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment Phung Duc Tien said Vietnam has been fighting illegalfishing for over six years. The goal is to have the EC’s yellow card warning removed. At the fourth inspection conducted by the commission in October this year, the organisationrecognised andappreciated Vietnam's performance in combating IUU fishing.
The EC has recommended Vietnam enhance measures for detecting,preventing, and prosecuting violators related to illegal fishing in foreignwaters, especially those who intentionally disconnect their vessel monitoring systems (VMS) near the boundaries of the Exclusive Economic Zone.
The commission also asked for tighter control to ensure that all deregistered fishingvessels are not allowed to engage in fishing activities, and guarantee the accuracyof the information on fishing vessels on the National Fisheries Database (VNFishbase),he said. Vietnam was requested to continue building a master plan for sustainable fisheries development in the period to 2050.
The EC also urged Vietnam to keep close control of andinvestigate fishingports involved in the confirmation and certification of theorigin of aquatic products, he said.
Participants underlined the need to boost coordination among localities in controlling the fleet of fishing boats, including the number ofvessels, their registration, operational licences, and VMS installation.
They called for stricter solutions and stronger efforts to preventfishing ships from violating foreign waters, and strict control of the certificationof the origin of aquatic products, the imported materials for processingaquatic products.
🔯 Onthe same day morning, Deputy PM Quang made an inspection trip to Cat Lo fishingport in Vung Tau city./.
