Officers of Coast Guard Intelligence Division No. 2 talk with fishermen in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province about how to prevent and combat IUU fishing. — VNS Photo Nguyễn Diệp

BÀ RỊA-VŨNG TÀU — The Việt Nam Coast Guard and relevant forces have apprised some 1,000 fishermen in the southern coastal province of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu about how to prevent and combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The Việt Nam Coast Guard and relevant forces distribute leaflets about IUU fishing and present books about the Law on VCG and national flags to local fishermen at Cát Lở Port in Vũng Tàu City. — VNS Photo Nguyễn Diệp

Officers of Coast Guard Intelligence Division No. 2 under the Việt Nam Coast Guard (VCG) Command on October 19 cooperated with staff from the Border Guards and Fisheries Sub-Department in the province to distribute more than 1,000 leaflets about IUU fishing, 150 books about the Law on VCG and 100 national flags to fishermen at Cát Lở Port in Vũng Tàu City.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Phan Nhân Hậu, head of Đồng Nai Province-based Coast Guard Intelligence Division No. 2, said the action seeks to help coastal localities fight IUU fishing in order to lift the “yellow card” warning of the European Commission (EC).

It also provided fisherman information about the 2017 Fisheries Law, the country’s sovereignty over its sea and islands, sea laws, and the functions, duties and powers of VCG.

“It helps to ensure that fishing activities must comply with fishing regulations of Vietnamese law and international laws, contributing to conservation of marine resources and sustainable fisheries development,” he said.

A local fisherman helps to hang a new national flag on his fishing boat. — VNS Photo Nguyễn Diệp

A set of regulations coordinating the protection of aquatic resources and ensuring security and order at sea was signed between Coast Guard Intelligence Division No. 2 and the province’s Sub-Department of Fisheries on September 20.

Accordingly, the two sides will regularly exchange information to help each other resolve related cases, organise the spread of information about Việt Nam's seas and islands, and popularise education on sea laws among the population.

They will also coordinate organising patrols, inspections and law enforcement at sea; manage aquatic resource protection activities; and enhance professional skills.

Local border patrol forces, port authorities, and relevant agencies regularly conduct patrol and inspection activities by canoe. — VNS Photo Nguyễn Diệp

Coast Guard Intelligence Division No. 2 is tasked with monitoring the sea from Cù Lao Xanh in the central coastal province of Bình Định to Hà Tiên City in the Cửu Long (Mekong) province of Kiên Giang, including the Trường Sa (Spratly) Archipelago.

The division is also assigned to directly detect and combat violations of law, such as national security crimes, smuggling, and trade fraud at sea.

Seafood is unloaded from fishing boats at Cát Lở Port in Vũng Tàu City. — VNS Photo Nguyễn Diệp

Last month, it seized more than 260,000 litres of smuggled diesel oil from two offshore wooden fishing boats in the southwest coastal region of Việt Nam. — VNS