Vietnam News-25 Jan 2018
Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has approved a national action plan to prevent, minimise and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by 2025.
It aims to crack down on IUU fishing of Vietnamese and foreign organisations and individuals in Vietnamese waters and illegal fishing activities of Vietnamese fishing boats and fishermen in other countries’ waters.
The action plan aims to boost the sustainable development of fishing, contributing to national and regional security as well as international integration.
By April this year, the project of ocean fishing and offshore fishing by 2020 with a vision to 2030 is expected to be approved.
The action plan hopes to establish an inter-sector working group in charge of IUU prevention led by officials of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and manage imported sea product materials.
The PM ordered upgrading the technical system of onshore stations at the Directorate of Fisheries and 28 coastal provinces and cities to fully utilise information signaled from 10,000 fishing boats, which contributes to tackling IUU fishing.
The PM also called for the establishment of a fishing database to track and certify the origin of locally-caught fish and an effective monitoring system to refuses imports of product from IUU fishing.
Between May 2018 and 2020, the action plan will enhance measures to end illegal fishing of Vietnamese fishing boats and fishermen in waters of other countries and in international waters.
Leaders of provinces and cities must be responsible for their localities’ fishing boats abroad. Fishing boat owners, captains, fishermen and organisations who support IUU fishing will face fines.
The fisheries surveillance authorities were required to improve their capacity of cruise tracking detection and legal execution in waters, fish ports and fish markets.
From 2021 to 2025, one of the key missions is to invest in three major fishing centres, fish ports and logistics centres to facilitate foreign fishing boats in docking and transporting fish.
Việt Nam has favourable geographical conditions to develop its seafood industry, thanks to its coastline of more 3,260km and more than 3,000 islands and islets.
Fisheries are a key sector, whose output has been consistently rising in recent years.
The country hopes to become a leading seafood exporter by 2020.
According to General Department of Việt Nam Customs, last year the country’s sea product export turnover reached more than US$8.4 billion, up 15 per cent compared to the previous year.
