Vung Tau: A delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) led by Minister Le Minh Hoan on April 8 visited the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau to inspect the implementation of policies regarding illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing prevention and control.

In a working session with the provincial People’s Committee, Minister Hoan asked the locality to strengthen measures against IUU fishing, especially from now until May 2024, while reviewing recommendations from the European Commission (EC) for better performance, aiming to boost the green and sustainable growth of the fisheries industry.

Stressing that all actions must focus on maintaining Vietnamese aquatic resources for present and future generations, the official underlined the need to strengthen communications to enhance public awareness and responsibility in the field.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Tho affirmed that Ba Ria-Vung Tau will work hard to roll out more solutions to prev
ent and fight IUU fishing, as well as joining hands with the whole country to remove the EC’s yellow card in its next examination.

According to Vice Chairman of the committee Nguyen Cong Vinh, as of the end of March, 60.9% of the local fleet were offshore fishing vessels, while 96.82% of the fishing vessels with a length from 15m have been equipped with a vessel monitoring system.

Currently, 96.09% of the local fleet have received offshore fishing licences, he added.

Over the years, local authorities have closely controlled seafood in ports, detecting 55 cases of violating fishing regulations.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau hasn’t recorded a single vessel violating foreign waters since August of last year.

Earlier, Minister Hoan visited local fishermen and seafood processing firms, and toured fishing ports in Vung Tau city./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency