On the morning of November 13, the 11th term People's Council of Binh Thuan province held its 28th session (special session). At this session, the Provincial People's Council discussed and passed many resolutions. Among them, the Resolution regulating the policy of supporting subscription fees for satellite services to monitor fishing vessel routes in the province was passed.
According to the report of the Provincial People's Committee, Binh Thuan currently has 1,941 fishing vessels with the largest length of 15m or more, operating with VMS equipment installed, reaching a rate of 100%. According to regulations, VMS equipment installed on fishing vessels must be turned on 24/7 from the time the vessel leaves the port to operate at sea until it returns to the port.
Maintaining regular operation of VMS equipment, in addition to complying with the provisions of the law on fisheries and meeting the conditions for removing the EC's "Yellow Card", also helps management agencies effectively monitor, prevent and combat IUU fishing. At the same time, it also supports disaster prevention and search and rescue at sea.
Through the fishing vessel monitoring system, from the beginning of 2022 to now, nearly 40,000 fishing vessels have lost connection to VMS devices at sea. Of which, the loss of connection due to the ship owner not paying the subscription fee accounts for about 60%.
To improve the effectiveness of combating IUU fishing according to the EC's recommendations, and at the same time help fishermen reduce difficulties and maintain regular operation of VMS equipment installed on fishing vessels, it is necessary to issue a policy to support subscription fees for satellite services to monitor fishing vessel journeys in the province.
To be eligible for support, the owner of a fishing vessel with a length of 15m or more registered in Binh Thuan province (estimated 1,950 vessels), must have all the following documents: fishing vessel registration certificate; valid technical safety certificate; valid fishing license. There must be a contract for satellite service subscription to monitor the journey of the fishing vessel signed between the fishing vessel owner and the service provider, along with an invoice for the service. The journey monitoring device installed on the fishing vessel must maintain a continuous connection signal when operating at sea in accordance with regulations.
Fishing vessel owners are not supported if they violate: fishing vessels are administratively sanctioned for violations related to illegal fishing or fishing vessels are stuck ashore for 2 months or more in a quarter, they will not be supported in that quarter.
The support level for the subscription fee for satellite service to monitor fishing vessel journeys is 175,000 VND/month/vessel. The support period is 36 months. The form of support is through the service provider. Support is provided quarterly according to the contract signed between the service provider and the fishing vessel owner and has an invoice from the service provider. The support funding source comes from the provincial budget, the total estimated support funding for 1,950 vessels in 3 years is 12,285,000,000 VND.
