(HPDT)- After more than 2 years of implementing Plan No. 113 dated April 26, 2018 of the City People's Committee on a number of urgent solutions to prevent, minimize and […]
(HPĐT)- After more than 2 years of implementing Plan No. 113 dated April 26, 2018 of the City People's Committee on a number of urgent solutions to prevent, minimize, eliminate and stop the situation of fishing vessels and fishermen in Hai Phong illegally exploiting seafood, unreported, unregulated (IUU) in foreign waters during the period. 2018-2025 Hai Phong has certain changes. However, the results achieved were not as expected.
Many fishing boats of Hai Phong fishermen do not have a fishing license.
Initial transformation
According to the assessment of the Working Group of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) after inspecting the implementation of anti-IUU fishing in Hai Phong city, Hai Phong has made positive changes in the implementation of anti-IUU fishing. People's Committees at all levels and city departments, divisions and branches have issued many guiding documents on combating IUU exploitation and implementation documents according to the direction of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development closely to the actual situation. Notably, the city organized the writing of registration numbers and markings of fishing vessels for 1,190 fishing vessels (reaching the rate of 100% of local fishing vessels required to be marked according to regulations) according to Circular No. 23 dated November 15, 2018 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The city focuses on organizing many inspections and auditsInvestigate and handle administrative violations related to exploitation and protection of aquatic resources; Invest in internet connections, computer systems, and presentation screens to retrieve information about fishing vessels to serve the management and fight against IUU fishing. The process of inspection and control of fishing vessels between departments in the fishing port has been improved, serving the fight against IUU fishing.
Along with that, the compliance of ship owners and fishermen in registering and inspecting fishing vessels has seen many positive changes. Up to now, most of Hai Phong's fishing vessels have been registered and inspected regularly and in accordance with regulations. The number of fishing vessels installed with voyage monitoring equipment has increased. The situation of Hai Phong's fishing vessels exploiting foreign waters has decreased significantly and basically stopped.
Accelerate the process of issuing fisheries exploitation certificates
Although some initial results have been achieved in implementing IUU exploitation solutions, many problems have appeared in the implementation process that need to be focused on solving. First, the installation of cruise monitoring equipment for the city's fishing vessels is still slow; The number of fishing vessels operating in fisheries without a food safety certificate is still quite large. Up to this point, Hai Phong has 621 fishing vessels (accounting for 52.80%) operating in fishing activities with fishing licenses; 596 fishing vessels do not have a fishing license; 420 fishing vessels do not have food safety certificates. What is most worrying is that Ngoc Hai Fishing Port is currently seriously degraded, affecting the implementation of regulatory criteria. Specifically, the inlet and exit channels are blockedi settle; The wharf and embankment systems are sunken and cracked, especially in the No. 1 fishing wharf area. The wastewater treatment system, drainage system, and buoyancy buoys do not exist, causing difficulties for ships entering and exiting the port to confirm the origin of exploited aquatic products.
Violations of illegal fishing such as: not keeping logs, not reporting according to regulations, exploiting in the wrong areas, using electric pulses, explosives to exploit... still occur. These are major obstacles affecting the completion of prescribed criteria.
To remove the above problems, in the coming time, there needs to be more active and drastic participation of departments, branches and localities in carrying out the tasks assigned by the City People's Committee according to Plan No. 113 dated April 26, 2018. In particular, urge local ship owners to complete the installation of cruise monitoring equipment for fishing vessels. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development reviewed and accelerated the progress of issuing fishing certificates for fishing vessels and food safety certificates. The Border Guard coordinates with functional forces to strengthen inspection at sea and resolutely handle fishing vessels that are not qualified to go to sea.
In the immediate future, the city is interested in quickly arranging investment funds to upgrade items of Ngoc Hai fishing wharf (Do Son district) to complete the criteria. In addition, pay attention to financial and human resources at fisheries management agencies and fishing ports. At the same time, attach responsibility to the heads of Party committees, authorities at all levels, departments, branches, and relevant functional forces in directing, administering and strictly handling organizations and individuals who lack a sense of responsibility in the fight against IUU fishing, affecting Vietnam's efforts to remove the "Yellow Card".
Tien Dat – Photo: Trung Kien
Procedures
