Hanoi (VNA) –The Prime Minister on May 28 issued an official dispatch urging urgent actionsto curb and prevent illegal operation of Vietnamese fishing boats and fishermenin foreign waters.

Dispatch No. 732/CD-TTg was issued in thecontext of rising violations of foreign waters since the end of 2015, involvingVietnamese fishing boats and fishermen, especially those from the centralprovinces of Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh and Binh Thuan, and the southern provincesof Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Kien Giang, Ca Mau, Ben Tre and Tien Giang.

Their violations have harmed Vietnam’s image inthe international area and caused adverse impacts on the country’s seafoodexport, the document said. 

Accordingly, the PM required the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to promptly submit to the Governmentfor approval a national programme of action on preventing illegal, unreportedand unregulated (IUU) fishing, saying the programme must be put into placeright after the approval. 

At the same time, the ministry should intensifylaw enforcement to prevent illegal fishing and impose stricter punishment onboth individuals and organisations that violate legal regulations in the field.

The ministry isinstructed to increase negotiations to sign fishery cooperation agreements, setup hotlines to supervise fishing activities and conduct joint patrols withconcerned countries.

The PM urged the MARD to instruct fisheriessurveillance forces to increase law enforcement while coordinating withministries, agencies, localities and international organisations to popularisenational and international fisheries regulations among relevant organisationsand individuals. 

The Ministry of National Defence was required toinstruct competent agencies to keep a close watch on fishing boats at sea, stepup patrols in bordering and overlapping waters to stop Vietnamese fishing boatsfrom violating foreign waters as well as prevent foreign fishing boats fromentering Vietnam’s waters. 

Both ministries were asked to review and amendrelevant current policies and regulations to tighten the management of fishingactivities.

The PM requested the Ministry of Public Securityto team up with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to swiftly identify fishermenarrested by foreign countries to soon bring them home, and strictly manage thereleased fishermen. 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was tasked withprotecting Vietnamese fishermen detained abroad and opposing the illegal arrestof Vietnamese fishermen in the country’s waters or overlapping areas withoutclear delimitation between Vietnam and other countries. 

The Ministry of Information and Communicationswas ordered to enhance the popularisation of relevant regulations among thepublic, and coordinate with concerned ministries to announce outcomes ofinvestigation and punishment against individuals and organisations thatorganize illegal fishing activities. 

The PM also required the People’s Committees ofcities and provinces, especially Quang Ngai, Kien Giang, Ca Mau, Binh Dinh, BaRia-Vung Tau, Binh Thuan, Ben Tre and Tien Giang, to take measures to punishauthorities of localities where there are many illegal fishing activities by fishingboats and fishermen before August 15, 2017. 

The Chairman of provincial or municipal People’s Committeesand heads of administrations at lower levels will have to bear responsibilitybefore the PM if they fail to stop the illegal fishing.

The Prime Minister also instructed severalsanctions against fishing boat owners who have repeatedly made violations.-VNA