Tien Giang (VNA) - All fishing boats in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang have been equipped with vessel monitoring system (VMS), and the locality has also updated 100% of fishing vessel data in the National Fisheries Database (VN-Fishbase), according to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

From 2022 to the end of July 2024, there had been no cases of fishing vessels in the locality engaging in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

According to the department, efforts to prevent and combat IUU fishing in Tien Giang have proven effective in recent years. This is attributed to maintaining and enhancing communication campaigns to raise fishermen's awareness and understanding of the issue.

In the first seven months of 2024, the agency coordinated with the provincial Border Guard Command, the Navy Region 2 Command, the Coast Guard Region 3 Command under the Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG), and other relevant agencies to organise two communications activities, targeting nearly 250 fishermen, boat owners, captains, and businesspeople; distribute 600 relevant documents; and present nearly 1,000 national flags to local fishermen.

The department has also established a fishing vessel monitoring team under the provincial Fisheries Sub-Department, and an inspection team to monitor and count unregistered fishing vessels in the locality.

Colonel Truong Cong Sau, Deputy Commander of the provincial Border Guard, said the unit continues to coordinate with authorised agencies to organise communications campaigns to popularise Vietnamese and international laws on fisheries in key fishing areas.

Nguyen Van Man, Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, stressed that awareness-raising campaigns on the fight against IUU fishing have produced positive results, with the number of offshore fishing vessels suspected of IUU violations reducing.

Since the 2017 Fisheries Law came into force, the province has been paying more attention to the information work, and encouraging locals to shift from traditional fishing methods to sustainable fisheries, and to observe relevant regulations.

Tien Giang currently has 1,274 fishing vessels with 9,135 crew members𝔉 working directly on board. The total output of aquatic products in the first seven months of 2024 reached ♛55,792 tonnes, up 3.8% over the same period in 2023./.