From fishermen’s proactive efforts during their voyages to the management, supervision, together with public awareness campaigns led by competent authorities aim toward a common goal: curbing IUU fishing. This collective effort contributes to the whole country having its “yellow card” warning lifted by the EC.

The PPC has issued a plan outlining measures against IUU fishing. Under this plan, the agriculture and environmental sector is tasked with reviewing alongside managing fishing vessels, operating licenses, vessel monitoring systems (VMS), VNFishbase data, electronic traceability systems. Border guard forces are responsible for monitoring vessel departures coupled with arrivals, as well as conducting maritime patrols. The police are tasked with cleansing data combined with investigating organized violations. Meanwhile, coastal commune and ward authorities are responsible for overseeing anchored vessels, monitoring fishermen, as well as conducting community outreach.

In coastal localities, the plan has been broken down into specific tasks. Comrade Le Thanh Vu, Vice Chairman of the Xuan Dai Ward People’s Committee, stated that in the context of 355 fishing vessels in operation along with nearly 600 means supporting aquaculture, strictly managing the fishing fleet has been identified as a priority in the fight against IUU fishing. The ward has established 11 task forces, assigning officials combined with party members to directly monitor alongside manage vessels unsatisfying operational requirements, including expired fishing licenses or expired technical safety certificates, to ensure that no non-compliant vessels put to sea.

Border Guard forces raising awareness among fishermen regarding regulations for marine fisheries exploitation.

Simultaneously, serving as the frontline force against IUU violations, coastal border guard stations are tightening their control over fishing vessels from the moment they depart from port. Captain Nguyen Minh Hoang, Deputy Political Commissar of the Tuy Hoa Border Guard Station, stated: “Before every fishing trip, border guard officers inspect documentation, operational conditions, VMS equipment, together with other relevant procedures. Information regarding port departures coupled with arrivals is updated and shared with fisheries management authorities to facilitate monitoring in coordination with verifying fishing vessel activities. While at sea, these vessels continue to be tracked via VMS. If a vessel loses its signal, shows signs of crossing maritime boundaries, or engages in unusual activity, the competent authorities coordinate verification efforts, issue warnings, contact the vessel owner, their family, or local authorities to promptly prevent potential violations.”

Alongside the efforts from the authorities, compliance level among individual vessel owners, captains, together with crew members remains a crucial factor contributing to the effectiveness of combating IUU fishing.

During the past years, every fishing trip undertaken by Mr. Tran Minh Hoai, from Phu Dong 4 quarter (Phu Yen ward), has involved a special partner back on land. Whenever his vessel departs, his wife monitors its journey via a mobile application, proactively checking the connection status, alerting the authorities whenever irregularities arise. His family’s fishing vessel is currently equipped with two VMS devices to mitigate the risk of signal loss or equipment malfunction.

Thanks to the coordinated efforts of both the authorities and the fishing community, the provincial initiatives to combat IUU fishing have yielded significant outcomes. All fishing vessels have been registered in the VNFishbase system; marked with their registration numbers in accordance with regulations. Furthermore, 99.7% of vessels hold valid fishing licenses, 98.9% have current technical inspection certificates, wholly fishing vessels measuring 15 meters or longer have been equipped with VMS devices.

Translated by TRINH THUY