PM approves national action plan to combat IUU fishing

The Prime Minister has recently granted approval for a national action plan to prevent, mitigate and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing until 2025.

Illustrative image (Source: VNA).

The plan aims to promote sustainable development of fisheries, contributing to ensuring national security as well as regional and international integration while.

Accordingly, key tasks to be carried out from now to April, 2018 include approving an ocean fishing project and an offshore fishing planning until 2020 with a vision to 2030. An inter-sectoral working group will be established to direct and co-ordinate actions against IUU fishing, along with a system to examine imported materials for seafood processing. Adjustment will be made to ensure effective operation of a mechanism to trace the origin of domestically exploited seafood.

The Prime Minister also requires technical upgrade for coastal stations run by the Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries and 28 coastal cities and provinces to supervise and use information provided by fishing vessels.

A database of the fisheries sector will be set up to verify, certify and trace the origin of domestic seafood while denying the import of fish products that are identified as being caught in IUU fishing.

During May 2018-2020, relevant organisations must enhance measures to stop all illegal fishing activities of Vietnamese ships and fishermen in foreign and international waters. Strict punishment will be meted out for ship owners, fishermen and transporters of products from boats involved in IUU fishing, while policies will be designed to ensure sustainable livelihoods for fishermen.

Fisheries surveillance forces at all levels will be strengthened to improve their capacity in patrolling, inspecting and handling law violations in the country’s waters. A roadmap will be built for the compulsory installation and operation of fishing vessel monitoring equipment on all domestic fishing boats.

During 2021-2015, one of the main tasks will be establishing three large fisheries centres along with fishing ports and a network of logistics facilities to receive foreign fishing vessels.

(Source: VNA)