Phu Quoc ramps up efforts against IUU fishing

Kien Giang (VNA) – Phu Quoc island city, along with other coastal localities in the southern province of Kien Giang, has been concertedly rolling out solutions and exerting great efforts to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Doan Van Tien said between now and May, Phu Quoc will continue the communications work to raise public awareness, especially among the boat owners, captains and fishermen, of the Fisheries Law 2017 and relevant issues.

The city is resolved to complete the registration and licensing of fishing vessels with a length from 6m to below 12m within the first quarter of this year, establish inspection teams, and deregister 1,146 fishing boats that are no longer operational.

It will coordinate with competent forces and agencies to enhance the inspections, supervisions and handling of wrongdoings by vessels at fishing grounds, Tien said, noting that all of the boat owners and captains should be committed to not violating foreign waters and fishing regulations.

Notably, since the beginning of this year, groups of the city’s steering committee on IUU fishing combat and its assistance forces have been set up via Zalo communication app, enabling them to stay updated and exchange information.

Inspections have been tightened over the installation and operation of the vessel monitoring system (VMS) on fishing vessels measuring from 15m in length. At the same time, all of the seafood handled at local seaports has been undergone product traceability.

Tien said such efforts have led to the absence of cases of illegal fishing in foreign waters by fishing boats registered in the city so far this year.

On October 23, 2017, the European Commission (EC) issued a "yellow card" warning to Vietnam, after the country failed to demonstrate sufficient progress in the fight against IUU fishing.

The commission is scheduled to conduct an inspection over IUU fishing in Vietnam in June 2023./.