The VMS quality should be strictly inspected before providing it to fishermen to avoid problems. - Illustrative image

QUẢNG TRỊ - The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in the central province of Quang Tri province has proposed the Directorate of Fisheries (DoF) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development resolve some outstanding issues relating to vessel monitoring system (VMS) on fishing boats in an concerted effort to prevent illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The VMS quality should be strictly inspected before providing it to fishermen to avoid problems, it said.

The unit in charge of installing the VMS has been requested to put in place a warning system when the VMS is broken and disconnected so that the boat’s captain can detect, fix it or report its location to the fisheries sub-department.

In mid-April, due to a satellite error, many fishing boats of Quang Tri that installed the VMS of Vietnam Telecom Services Company (Vinaphone) suffered loss of connection, affecting fishermen’s operation.

To deal with the problem, the department required units and localities to notify and guide owners and captains of such boats to implement temporary solutions.

It is necessary to issue a technical guidance for handling fishing vessels that do not maintain connection to VMS devices and those that infringe foreign waters, it said.

The department also suggested allowing the head of local fisheries management agency to impose administrative sanctions against violating fishing vessels in accordance with the 2017 Fisheries Law and its guiding documents. — VNA/VNS