Raising legal awareness
At Thuan An Border Guard Station, each fishing vessel before leaving port is strictly checked for records, fishing licenses, lists of crew members, vessel monitoring equipment (VMS) and communication equipment.
Captain Nguyen Van Nhan, Head of Thuan An Border Guard Station, said that the unit resolutely does not allow ships that do not fully meet the conditions according to regulations to depart. Currently, Hue City has more than 1,000 fishing boats with a length of 6m or more operating at sea. Besides controlling at sea gates, the Border Guard determines that propaganda is an important solution to prevent violations early.
Border Guard stations regularly coordinate with localities, the fisheries sector and the fishing port management board to directly propagate to ship owners and captains about regulations against IUU fishing; guide fishing logs, maintain VMS equipment operation, fish in the licensed areas and absolutely not violate foreign waters.
Mr. Nguyen Quang Khai, a fisherman in Vinh Loc commune, said that after being propagated, he always checks all papers and equipment before each sea trip and only fishes in the permitted sea area.
Hue City Border Guard also coordinates with the Fisheries Sub-Department, the Fishing Port Management Board and the Fisheries Inspection Representative Office to check fishing logs, compare dossiers, and confirm the origin of aquatic products. According to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tai, specialist of the Fisheries Inspection Representative Office, cases that do not ensure regulations or show signs of violation will not be confirmed the origin of aquatic products.
Resolutely handle violations
In parallel with control at seaports, Hue City Border Guard maintains many patrols and inspections at sea to detect and strictly handle violations. Lieutenant Colonel Tran Minh Toan, Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff of Hue City Border Guard, said that the unit is in charge of coordinating with relevant forces to organize patrols and controls associated with combating IUU fishing, promptly detecting violations to advise on handling according to regulations.
During the patrol, functional forces check exploitation licenses, exploitation logs, VMS equipment, compare the operating coordinates of ships with the licensed sea area; and at the same time propagate and remind fishermen not to exploit in the wrong area, not to infringe on foreign waters.
However, there are still some cases of intentional violations. In a recent patrol, the Hue City Border Guard force discovered two fishing boats fishing in the wrong area in the Tu Hien estuary area and the coastal sea area of Vinh Loc commune. The captains all admitted violations and committed not to repeat them.
Captain Nguyen Duc Minh Hoang - Deputy Head of Vinh Hien Border Guard Station, said that the unit will continue to maintain patrols and inspections, proactively detect violations early, and at the same time promote propaganda to raise fishermen's awareness of law compliance.
Preventing and combating IUU fishing is not only a requirement for Vietnam to soon remove the EC's "yellow card" warning, but also contributes to building a modern, responsible and sustainable fishing industry. For the Hue City Border Guard, this is also a task associated with protecting sovereignty, maintaining security in the sea border area and building a solid all-people border defense posture.
