A fishing ship moored at a port in Phan Thiết City, Bình Thuận Province.VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Thanh

HÀ NỘI — Authorities of the south-central coastal province of Bình Thuận will inspect enterprises exporting aquatic products to the European market to prepare for the European Commission (EC)’s fourth round of inspection of the local fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in late May.

Accordingly, inspections will be conducted from May 15-18 at local businesses that purchase raw materials, process and export aquatic products to the European market. The work will focus on the compliance with regulations on anti-IUU fishing and reviewing the documentation for confirming and certifying the origin of harvested seafood to ensure traceability throughout the supply chain.

The inspections are expected to promptly detect, rectify, and punish organisations, seafood processing and export establishments, and individuals who intentionally violate regulations on IUU and attempt to legitimise documentation for exporting seafood batches to the European market.

Relevant forces of Bình Thuận have coordinated with local administrations to deploy many solutions to combat IUU fishing; and promoted communication activities to popularise guiding documents of the central and local authorities and raise local fishermen's awareness of law observance.

Since early 2023, over 16,000 fishermen in Bình Thuận have been provided with information relating to relevant regulations on preventing IUU fishing. Owners of over 3,800 fishing vessels with a length of 12 metres and above have signed commitments not to engage in IUU fishing.  

The coordination between various competent forces in and outside the province to manage fishing vessels and combat IUU fishing is closely linked to the implementation of the Fisheries Law.

Local fishing vessels were strictly inspected at ports, sea, and via vessel monitoring systems (VMS), which help early detect and promptly prevent cases of potential violations of IUU fishing, and fishing vessels' infringements into foreign waters.

As of April 21, Bình Thuận had completed the installation of VMS on 99 per cent of its fishing ships with a length of 15 metres and above. — VNS