Resolutely handle
According to the People's Committee of Kim Thach Commune (Vinh Linh District, Quang Tri Province), recently, electric fishing boats have appeared in the waters of Quang Tri Province. Electric fishing has seriously affected aquatic resources, so local fishermen are very upset.
Through meetings with voters, fishermen in Kim Thach commune and some coastal communes in Vinh Linh and Gio Linh districts... reported on the situation of illegal fishing, requesting that authorities strengthen supervision and handling.
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Dinh Cuong, Chief of Con Co Border Guard Station, said that the situation of fishing boats from other provinces illegally exploiting aquatic products in the waters near Con Co Island is still happening.
Most recently, at 1:00 a.m. on November 15, a patrol boat squadron of the Quang Tri Border Guard discovered fishing boat QNg 55372IS of fishermen from Quang Ngai using electric pulses to exploit aquatic products. When discovered, the boat was about 1 nautical mile southwest of Con Co Island. Mr. Pham Ha (born in 1974, from Binh Chau commune, Binh Son district, Quang Ngai province), the captain and owner of the fishing boat, could not present the required documents related to the fishing boat.
The fishing boat has been brought to Con Co Island. Con Co Border Guard Station has recorded the incident and confiscated the electric shock device, generator, and fishing gear. For the act of exploiting aquatic products using electric pulses, the owner of the fishing boat will be fined about 70 million VND.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Dinh Cuong, detecting and handling the above mentioned illegal fishing vessels is very difficult. “The vessels operate at night, when detected, the vessels often run away and resist. It is very difficult to ensure the safety of the vessels, the fishermen and the authorities, but the border guards are still determined to handle and prevent them,” said Lieutenant Colonel Cuong.
Thanks to the fishermen for their support
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Tri province, in recent times, the unit has actively coordinated with relevant agencies and units such as the Provincial Border Guard Command and the Provincial Police to strengthen the inspection, control and supervision of fishing vessels operating in the waters of Quang Tri. Through patrols and inspections, a number of fishing vessels were found to be storing electric shocks on board to secretly exploit aquatic resources.
Since the beginning of 2024, law enforcement forces at sea have handled 56 administrative violations of illegal fishing with a total fine of VND 465.3 million.
In the coming time, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will continue to coordinate with the Provincial Border Guard Command, the Provincial Police and local authorities in collecting information on illegal fishing subjects; strengthen patrolling, inspection, examination and control at sea, and strictly handle cases of illegal fishing violations at sea.
The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development hopes that when fishermen discover fishing vessels illegally exploiting aquatic resources and affecting aquatic resources and security at sea, they will promptly notify the authorities of the vehicle registration number, coordinates of the violation, and direction of travel for timely handling.
