According to a report from the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Thanh Hoa province in central Vietnam, the province currently has 6,243 fishing vessels, of which 1,014 offshore vessels have been equipped with Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS), achieving 100 per cent compliance.
Fisheries management in the area has seen many positive changes: 100% of fishing vessels are registered, inspected, numbered, and their data entered into the VNFishbase system; no vessels have violated foreign waters, the report noted.
Thanh Hoa currently has four announced fishing ports with three ports meeting the conditions for seafood origin certification.
Inspection and violation handling are strictly enforced: 217 cases have been fined; all violations have been updated in the national database.
Despite these achievements, there are still some issues in combating IUU fishing in the province. By the end of 2024, some 81 fishing vessels did not meet operational conditions, due to expiration of licences, registered dosiers and food safety certificates.
Moreover, the loss of VMS connectivity remains common. Additionally, the province's fisheries inspection and monitoring force is thin, with limited equipment, while many fishing ports and anchorage areas are degraded, silted, and unable to meet demand.
TIGHTENING MANAGEMENT, PROMOTING DIGITALIZATION OF FISHERIES DATA
At a recent working session with a delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE), led by Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien, Mr. Cao Van Cuong, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa Province, stated that the locality is vigorously implementing the peak month against Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, aiming to join the nation's efforts to have the EC's "yellow card" removed.
The province also proposed that the MAE invest in upgrading and repairing some ports. It also proposed National Assembly and the Government to amend the Fisheries Law and related decrees to address difficulties in management, inspection, licensing, and handling IUU fishing.
Deputy Minister Tien acknowledged and highly appreciated Thanh Hoa's efforts in implementing the EC's recommendations but also pointed out some cases that had not met the requirements. Therefore, the Deputy Minister requested the locality to strictly control the fishing fleet, ensuring 100 per cent of vessels have valid licenses and VMS operates uninterruptedly.
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