Strictly comply
Due to the nature of the work of drifting in the western sea of the Fatherland, fisherman Nguyen Van Vu (Phu Quoc Special Zone, An Giang Province) has few conditions to access legal documents. On the afternoon of November 21, Mr. Vu was visited by a working group of the Duong Dong Port Border Guard Station to propagate the fight against IUU fishing, thereby helping to enhance the responsibility of protecting aquatic resources and maintaining long-term sustainable livelihoods.
Mr. Vu said that for a long time, seafood exploitation activities in some coastal areas have been inadequate, from the lack of journey logs to turning off journey monitoring equipment. Habits, whether rooted in personal interests or lack of knowledge, have accumulated into major barriers.
In the Phu Quoc sea area, where there are thousands of boats making a living, to change a way of thinking and a way of doing things that have eaten deep into the subconscious is a challenge. However, when seeing the risk of losing the fish export market and above all the national image being affected, everyone realized that they needed to act.
"I have been on this ship for many years and we have never violated the law. As a Vietnamese citizen, we always uphold our responsibility to comply with the provisions of the law and the State, especially during the final stage to remove the EU's yellow card" - Mr. Vu said.
On the same day, Mr. Le Thanh Son (artist) and the fishermen on the fishing boat were also propagandized by the force about IUU work, presented with flags and photos of Uncle Ho. Mr. Son expressed: "I thank the working group for coming to propagate and disseminate the law, through which we remind each other to raise our awareness even more. For us, this is not just a matter of making a living, but the honor of Vietnamese fishermen".
Determined at all times
For the Duong Dong Port Border Guard Station, it is responsible for managing and protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands with a 13.7 km long coastline (from Dong Tram area in Ong Lang hamlet, Cua Duong commune to Mui Duong area in Cua Lap hamlet, Duong To commune).
Currently, the management area has 700 vehicles, of which 397 vehicles are from 6m - 12m; 149 vehicles are from 12m - 15m; 137 vehicles are from 15m - 24m; 17 vehicles are over 24m; 16 fishing logistics service vehicles; in addition, there are fishing boats from other communes and wards of the province coming to operate and anchor at certain times, with unstable quantity...
Lieutenant Colonel Le Tuan Phong, Political Commissar of the Duong Dong Port Border Guard Station, said that, implementing the Resolution of the Party Committee of the Duong Dong Port Border Guard Command and the Plan of the Command Committee in the fight against IUU, the Station Command has developed a plan to deploy and build many tasks, especially propaganda.
Along with that, the Station has coordinated with units to encourage vehicle owners and captains to comply well; especially during the peak month, it has been deployed resolutely, synchronously, and strictly patrolled and controlled.
"The station coordinated with relevant units to go to the house, encouraging vehicle owners who lacked procedures or were inspected. In general, vehicle owners and fishermen in the area are doing very well. We also determined that we must not only carry out tasks during peak times but also strictly implement them at all times, especially measures to strictly manage fishing vessels" - Lieutenant Colonel Le Tuan Phong said.
