On October 6, the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa province issued a process for processing data on monitoring fishing vessel journeys during their activities at sea, in order to effectively exploit the fishing vessel monitoring system (VMS), serving the management, prevention and containment of fishing vessels violating foreign waters.
This process is one of the specific solutions for Khanh Hoa to strictly implement the Government's direction on combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, aiming to remove the "yellow card" of the European Commission (EC).
Tightly control fishing vessels crossing the border of the sea
The synchronous implementation of this process is expected to contribute to tightening management of fishing vessels, protecting fisheries legitimately and enhancing the reputation of Vietnamese seafood in the international market.
According to the process, when detecting fishing vessels crossing the boundary of the sea area permitted for exploitation, the on-duty staff of the Fishing Vessel Monitoring Center - Department of Fisheries and Islands (Department of Agriculture and Environment) will immediately determine information about the vessel, journey, coordinates, speed and direction of movement.
After that, the on-duty team contacted the ship owner or relatives to ask the captain to return to the permitted fishing area.
At the same time, the center also notified the unit providing the journey monitoring device to send warning signals and support the communication of messages to the ship.
If after the warning, the boat still does not return to the permitted sea area, the Department of Fisheries and Islands will report and send information to the Provincial Border Guard Command, the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control, and the Departments of Agriculture and Environment of coastal provinces and cities for coordination in monitoring, verification and handling.
In case the ship has not returned to shore or is not present in the locality, the competent authority will make a working record with the ship owner to record the incident, as a basis for handling when the ship returns.
The Provincial Border Guard Command is the agency in charge of inspection, verification and handling according to the provisions of law, and at the same time advises the Provincial People's Committee to resolve cases beyond its authority.
Strictly monitor fishing vessels that lose their journey signals
In case the fishing vessel loses the signal to connect the journey monitoring device (GSHT), the on-duty Department of the Fishing Vessel Monitoring Center is responsible for determining the vessel information and the time of loss of signal, and at the same time contact the equipment supplier to check the technical status.
Ship owners or captains must report the ship's location every 6 hours and bring the ship to shore for repair within 10 days if the connection error cannot be fixed.
If after 10 days the ship still has no signal to return or does not return to shore, the Department of Fisheries and Islands will report to the Department of Agriculture and Environment to issue a notice and coordinate with coastal localities to inspect, verify and handle according to regulations.
In case the ship owner is present in the locality but the ship has not returned, the competent authority will make a working record with the ship owner to record as a basis for future handling.
The results of inspection, verification, and handling of violations will be compiled and updated by the Department of Agriculture and Environment into the administrative penalty management software in the field of fisheries of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control.
Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee has assigned the Department of Agriculture and Environment to organize 24/7 supervision on the Fishing Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) at the Fishing Vessel Monitoring Center - Department of Fisheries and Sea Affairs, along with representative offices for fisheries inspection and control.
The Department is responsible for presiding over and coordinating with the Provincial Border Guard and related units to inspect, verify, and process data on monitoring the journey of fishing vessels, especially cases exceeding the permitted sea boundary.
