Government determined to end illegal fishing

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has directed the Ministry of National Defense to coordinate with all 28 coastal cities and provinces to take drastic action to stop illegal fishing in foreign waters, according to a report released by the Vietnam Government Portal on October 13.

The government leader also asked the Ministry of Public Security to promptly prosecute those who infringe upon foreign waters with Vietnamese fishing vessels and fishermen.

The Prime Minister requested that coastal localities coordinate closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to conduct comprehensive inspections of all fishing vessels, including both registered and unregistered, those with expired registrations, and those equipped or not equipped with a vessel monitoring system (VMS), and to strictly fine those that fail to comply with regulations on fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Local authorities must strictly monitor all fishing vessels heading out to sea and direct law enforcement to strengthen patrols and inspections to quickly detect and handle any violations.

Localities must regularly and fully update information on their fishing fleets on the national fisheries database (VNFishbase), strictly monitor fishing boats entering and exiting fishing ports, and strictly supervise the loading and unloading of seafood at fishing ports.

Prime Minister Chinh also ordered localities to arrange sufficient resources in terms of workforce, finance, and equipment for relevant forces to enhance the fight against IUU fishing.

He also called on the Vietnam Fisheries Society, the Vietnam Tuna Association, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), and seafood exporters and producers to continue working with the government and local authorities in the fight against IUU fishing, and to say no to IUU fishing-related products.

The Prime Minister called on fishermen to abide by Vietnam’s policies and laws and its international commitments to marine environmental protection.