On April 16, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung chaired the 34th meeting of the National Steering Committee for Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU).
At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment (MARD) Nguyen Hoang Hiep said that through the 5th inspection, the EC determined that some shortcomings had not been thoroughly overcome, which was the main reason for not removing the "yellow card".
In which, the marking of fishing vessels and writing registration plates in accordance with regulations and controlling fishing vessels entering and leaving ports, supervising loading and unloading through ports are still not thorough; controlling and tracing the origin of imported seafood raw materials exploited by container ships has not been carried out strictly, not evenly among processing and exporting enterprises.
The progress of handling fishing vessels violating IUU fishing is still slow, not synchronized between forces, not fully updated on the data system, and not meeting the EC's requirements.
Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung frankly acknowledged that through many working sessions with the EC, Vietnam still has repeated violations, which is the main reason why the removal of the "yellow card" has not achieved the desired results.
The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the system of guiding documents is not lacking, the problem lies in the implementation stage. Therefore, ministries, branches, and localities must clearly define responsibilities, strengthen inspection and urging.
Government leaders requested to urgently consolidate the organizational structure, including soon submitting to the Prime Minister to establish an inter-sectoral working group next to the Steering Committee. This working group will operate regularly, directly going to localities to inspect, urge, and handle problems, instead of just holding periodic meetings as before.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development needs to improve to submit for immediate promulgation a decree replacing Decree No. 38/2024/ND-CP of the Government: Regulating penalties for administrative violations in the field of fisheries, in the direction of increasing penalties to enhance deterrence. This is a direct requirement from the EC, to ensure that violations are handled strictly.
Inspection and supervision work in localities must be strengthened, associated with the responsibility of the heads. Localities that do well should be commended, conversely, places that loosen management and allow violations to occur must have handling measures.
The Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of National Defense to strengthen coordination in inspection and control at sea, resolutely preventing the emergence of fishing vessels violating foreign waters. Border guard forces must strictly control fishing vessels from the time they leave port, combine propaganda and mobilization of fishermen, and deploy professional measures to prevent violations from the root.
The Ministry of Public Security continues to investigate and strictly handle violations, especially dismantling brokerage lines bringing fishing boats and fishermen to illegally exploit in foreign waters.
For coastal localities, focus on thoroughly handling existing problems, especially the installation of journey monitoring devices, controlling ships entering and leaving ports, tracing origin and handling violations.
The Deputy Prime Minister requested the entire system to get involved synchronously, drastically, and act to the end. The goal is not only to meet the EC's requirements but also to build a transparent and sustainable fishing industry.
