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Illustrative image (Photo: SGGP) |
They were also urged to raise public awareness of regulations on fighting illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, especially among fishermen and officials at the grassroots level, thus making thorough preparations for the fourth on-site inspection by the European Commission (EC) this October.
Tien noted that following the third inspection, the EC delegation pointed out four shortcomings that need to be fixed, including the legal framework, fleet management, traceability of exploited aquatic products, and law enforcement.
Regarding legal documents, Vietnam has basically met the requirements. At present, the process of amending and supplementing Decree No. 42/2019/ND-CP on administrative penalties for violations in the fisheries sector and Decree No. 26/2019/ND-CP providing detailed provisions and measures for implementing the Fisheries Law is undergoing review by the Ministry of Justice and will be submitted to the Prime Minister for issuance.
Nguyen Quang Hung, Director of the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance, said the EC has acknowledged Vietnam's outstanding achievements in the work with concerted efforts from ministries, agencies, and localities.
The installation of vessel monitoring systems (VMS) on large-capacity vessels and the issuance of exploitation licenses and registrations, has reached about 98 percent. Localities need to do the remaining work before the EC delegation arrives, he said.
Localities must strive to ensure that no violations occur in foreign waters from now until October. Only then could Vietnam see the opportunity to have the "yellow card" warning lifted, he added.
He informed that in the coming time, the National Steering Committee on IUU Fishing Prevention will hold a conference to draw lessons from the intensive efforts over the 180-day period to address the "yellow card" status.
