There are still many "3 no" fishing boats.
After nearly 7 years of implementing the task of removing the " Yellow Card " warning of the European Commission (EC), the situation of combating IUU fishing in Quang Tri province has achieved some remarkable results.
Up to now, 98.94% of fishing vessels have installed voyage monitoring equipment, 69.44% of fishing vessels have been granted fishing licenses, 99.3% of fishing vessels have been marked; 100% of data has been updated on the VnFishbase software system, 100% of fishing vessel captains' fishing logs at fishing ports have been collected and strictly implemented, reaching 100%, and 100% of fishing vessels have notified 1 hour before arriving at port.
The total number of fishing vessels in the province as of the end of August 2024 was 2,272, with a total capacity of 137,464.6 CV. Of which, 1,840 were fishing vessels under 6m in length, and 432 were fishing vessels over 6m in length. In the first 8 months of 2024, 4,184 fishing vessels arrived at the port and 3,809 fishing vessels left the port with the Crew Register certified. The authorities organized 22 patrols, inspected 124 vessels, and fined 44 violations with a fine of more than 288 million VND.
However, according to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) of Quang Tri province, the work of combating IUU fishing in the province still faces some limitations. For example, the rate of fishing vessels registered, inspected, granted fishing licenses and installed voyage monitoring equipment has not reached 100% as required; the target of 100% of fishing vessels entering and leaving the channel must be strictly inspected and fishing vessels that do not ensure procedures, documents and equipment according to regulations have not been met.
Regarding the offshore and coastal fishing licenses issued to 244 fishing vessels that expired on June 24, 2024, to date, only 119 fishing vessel owners have submitted applications for re-issuance of fishing licenses. There are still fishing vessels entering and leaving ports without carrying out control procedures at fishing ports and border control stations. Fishing vessels leaving the channel for fishing do not turn on the journey monitoring device to operate. The progress of completing the dossier for fishing vessels with "3 no's" (no inspection, no registration, no license) is still slow...
Hold leaders accountable
According to the People's Committee of Quang Tri province, the locality has requested departments, branches, sectors and coastal districts to continue to focus on mobilizing resources to synchronously deploy tasks and solutions to combat IUU fishing. Attach responsibility to the heads of Party committees, authorities at all levels and functional forces with the results of combating IUU fishing; strictly handle organizations and individuals violating IUU fishing according to the law.
Request the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to coordinate with relevant departments, branches, sectors and districts to guide the implementation of inspection, registration, licensing procedures, and resolve the 378 "3 no" fishing vessels in the province before October 15, ensuring that 100% of fishing vessels are qualified to operate at sea.
“Coastal districts need to focus resources on overcoming shortcomings and limitations and effectively implementing solutions in the fight against IUU fishing,” said Mr. Ha Sy Dong, Permanent Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Tri province.
