Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà delivers his instructions at the conference. — VNA/VNS Photo Quách Kim Há

CÀ MAU — Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà on Thursday requested leaders of ministries and localities to unify their awareness and take measures in removing the illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) yellow card.

Chairing the combined online and in-person meeting of the National Steering Committee on combating IUU held in Cà Mau Province, the Deputy PM emphasised that removing the yellow card is not only a way to participate in the European market, but also to develop a sustainable fisheries industry.

It will ensure long-term benefits and livelihoods, ensure the safety of fishermen's lives and property and at the same time implement the Party and State's major policy on developing the marine economy associated with protecting the country's sovereignty over seas and islands.

He confirmed that removing the IUU yellow card will help Việt Nam's seafood industry participate in proactive integration and avoid technical and trade barriers when exporting to large markets such as Europe.

Local leaders need to be frank, honest, scientific and open-minded to accurately assess and find out the reasons why, after seven years, the IUU yellow card has not been removed.

"We need to come up with a comprehensive solution, not only to remove the yellow card, but also to improve exploitation efficiency, while protecting and developing marine resources in fishing grounds," said Deputy PM Hà.

The State plays an important role in planning, assessing fishing resources reserves, determining the season, exploitation areas during the year and the number of fishing vessels operating, thereby having policies to guide and support fishermen.

"The measures need to be clear, transparent, methodical, with scientific thinking based on practical experience,” he said.

Urgent tasks and solutions

The Deputy PM pointed out a number of major shortcomings and problems, such as unclear responsibilities of forces in managing fishing vessels from river mouths to fishing ports and at sea, along with regulations on handling owners of vessels who violate the rules.

He requested ministries and localities to review their responsibilities, leadership and implementation methods: "Considering this a priority political task".

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) must clarify the shortcomings, weaknesses, causes, tasks and urgent and immediate solutions for illegal fishing in foreign waters without declaration.

By next month, localities must complete the registration and management of all fishing vessels in the area.

The Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security and the MARD should coordinate and urgently connect forces including border guards, fisheries surveillance, coast guard and navy to use the database on registered fishing vessels and integrate with the national database on population, as well as all fishing vessels at sea.

Deputy PM Hà requested to review sanctions to strictly handle IUU violations, especially for ship owners and captains, emphasising that: "Punishment should be close to reality, reasonable, emotional, clear, transparent to both deter and prevent."

The MARD is responsible for reviewing administrative procedures for inspecting fishing equipment and vessels, with the spirit of "feasibility, practicality, science, and safety", researching and proposing policies to support ship owners.

The Ministry of Public Security’s duty is coordinating with the agricultural sector and local authorities to check unregistered fishing vessels and update the database.

Chairman of the Tiền Giang Provincial People's Committee Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh said that criminal handling of some IUU violations had greatly affected the awareness and thinking of ship owners and fishermen.

Deputy Chairman of the Bình Định Provincial People's Committee Nguyễn Tuấn Thanh proposed having a specialised department to support and provide information about fishing vessels arrested in foreign waters, so that local authorities have a basis for treating the case domestically.

Lieutenant General Phạm Trường Sơn, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, believes that the most important thing was to strictly manage fishing vessels while at the port.

Authorities, the army and the police must be a unified bloc, assigning clear and specific tasks to each force, from education to controlling and monitoring fishing vessel activities and treating violations. — VNS