Ca Mau (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has demanded that by November 20, all coastal localities must have thoroughly dealt with fishing vessels without registration, examination or licence as a critical step to battle illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

He made the request while chairing a hybrid conference with coastal localities in the Mekong Delta and the south-central province of Binh Dinh held in Ca Mau province on October 17.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien reported that after seven years of implementing the European Commission (EC)’s recommendations, fishing vessels’ infringement of foreign waters remains complicated.

Pointing out some outstanding problems, he said the registration and granting of fishing licences haven’t been completed, the monitoring of vessels operating at sea and ports has yet to be seriously implemented in many localities, while the rate of seafood catch monitored to serve origin tracing is still low.

In the time ahead, if illegal fishing and foreign waters infringement continue, it will be very difficult to persuade the EC to remove the “yellow card” over IUU fishing, Tien warned.

Noting several immediate tasks, officials said it is critically important to speed up institutional perfection, devise concrete measures for managing high-risk vessels, enhance examination, monitoring, investigation and verification, and especially stringently deal with rule violations to boost deterrence.

Leaders of localities expressed their determination to monitor fishing vessels more strictly, especially the “three no’s” ones (no registration, no examination, no licences).

Deputy PM Ha said implementing measures to have the “yellow card” warning lifted is not for the sake of formality but to secure sustainable development for the fisheries sector, as well as fishermen’s long-term interests and livelihoods, helping with national defence and maritime security.

To press on with the IUU fishing combat, he requested ministries, sectors, and localities grasp the Party Central Committee Secretariat’s Directive No. 32-CT/TW, dated April 10, 2024, on enhancing the Party’s leadership over the IUU fishing fight and sustainably developing the fisheries sector.

He also ordered specialised agencies to strengthen coordination to solve the infringement of foreign waters in line with Vietnamese law and international practices.

🧜 Ha also farmed out specific tasks to related ministries, sectors, and localities in the work, demanding that by the end of October, there must have a shared database about fishing vessel management among maritime law enforcement forces, units, and coastal localities./.