At the conference “Discussing solutions to overcome shortcomings and restrictions to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing” held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on September 29 in Ho Chi Minh City, the goal was reportedly not achieved reached end of 2021 to prevent and stop fishing vessels from fishing illegally in foreign waters, led by the Prime Minister.

Specifically, since the beginning of the year, 62 cases/85 ships/704 fishermen have been arrested and treated by foreign states. 43 violations were detected/58 vessels/440 fishermen; In the overlapping disputed waters historical waters unknown coordinates area there are 19 cases / 207 / 264 fishermen.

Malaysia is the country that arrests the most Vietnamese fishing boats with 20 cases / 28 vessels / 253 fishermen, followed by Thailand with 18 cases / 21 vessels / 109 fishermen, Indonesia with 4 cases / 8 vessels / 71 fishermen.

Kien Giang is the province with the highest number of cases of fishing vessels breaching foreign waters, with 16 cases from 20 vessels from 190 fishermen, mainly in Chau Thanh and An Bien districts, Ha Tien cities and Rach Gia cities.

Ben Tre province has 6 boxes/9 ships/53 fishermen concentrated in Ba Tri and Binh Dai districts; Ca Mau province has 6 crops/6 ships/41 fishermen concentrated in Tran Van Thoi district; Ba Ria – Vung Tau 4 crops/8 ships/55 fishermen concentrated in Long Dien district; Binh Dinh 4 crops/5 ships/31 fishermen concentrated in Phu Cat district; Khanh Hoa 2 crops/4 ships/36 fishermen concentrated in Ninh Hoa district, Nha Trang city; Binh Thuan 2 crops / 3 ships / 19 fishermen concentrated in La Gi town; Quang Ngai 2 crops / 2 ships / 9 fishermen concentrated in Binh Son and Duc Pho districts; Bac Lieu 1 Harvest / 1 Ship / 6 Fishermen in Dong Hai District.

Although the number of Vietnamese fishing vessels violating foreign waters is still high, the sanctioning of this violation is very low, the level of punishment is not uniform and is consistent between locations.

The reason is that the heads of authorities at all levels in some places are still subjective, have not paid due attention, lack of inspection and supervision; coordination between functional forces in investigations and sanctions was unsynchronised, streamlined and timely; People’s awareness of law enforcement is not high, and the mediation and connection of fishing vessels to illegal fishing in foreign waters has not yet been addressed, although in reality this phenomenon still occurs.

The decline in aquatic resources, as well as the fact that some organizations and individuals still purchase, process and consume aquatic products from fishery sources that have not strictly complied with anti-IUU regulations are also reasons contributing to the ongoing violations in foreign waters .

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said that in order to overcome the situation of Vietnamese fishing vessels violating foreign waters, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has been continuously inspecting for more than 3 years, visiting every fishing port, checking every logbook and there are documents that indicate the island for each province, but the change is very slow.

In view of this situation, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will in the near future assess, summarize and report to the Prime Minister those units, provinces and cities that have not strictly sought to provide more narrow and practical guidance organization of law enforcement for sea fishing activities.

According to Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien, the situation of fishing vessels violating foreign waters has the peculiarity that in some provinces, these fishing vessels are concentrated in only one district and only a few municipalities in that district. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will coordinate with the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security and communities to inspect each community with violating ships, to remind the community authorities and the people of these violations, to spread them and to make them understandable Impact on Vietnam’s seafood exports to Europe and other markets, as well as on the national image.