Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhhas asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to build a180-day action plan to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, as recommended by the European Commission (EC), and submit it tohim and the Government for approval and issuance.

MARD - the Standing Board of the National SteeringCommittee on IUU Prevention and Control - was also asked to deploy inter-sectoralinspection teams to coastal localities to examine the implementation ofregulations against IUU fishing and give guidelines on the settlements ofproblems, according to a Government Office’s notice on the conclusion of PM Chinhat a recent conference on IUU fishing.

In his conclusion, the PM underlined that removing the EC’s“yellow card” is to boost the sustainable development of the domestic fisheriessector, ensure the interest of the nation and people, improve the image ofVietnam in the world arena, and show the country’s responsibility in realisinginternational commitments and conventions regarding the protection of maritimeenvironment and ecosystem.

Along with improving the awareness of fishermen inpreventing IUU fishing and supporting them in the work, ministries, sectors andlocalities must strictly implement the fisheries law, while adjusting andsupplementing relevant legal documents in a timely manner, the PM stressed.

He requested the Ministry of National Defence to coordinatewith other ministries, sectors and localities and coastal localities to end theviolations of foreign waters by March 31, 2023.

The Ministry of Public Security was asked to thoroughly settle the organisationof illegal fishing in foreign waters.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was directed to conduct theprotection of fishermen and bring them home, and finalise negotiations tocomplete the demarcation of sea borders between Vietnam and other countries.

The Ministry of Information and Communications was assigned to populariseVietnam’s efforts against IUU fishing, while the Ministry of Planning andInvestment was requested to allocate resources to ministries, sectors andlocalities to upgrade their fisheries infrastructure, ports and boat sheltersand support fishermen.

At the same time, the Ministry of Finance was asked to control imported aquaticproducts and provide capital to the implementation of IUU fishing combatmeasures.

The Ministry of Science and Technology was requested to roll out technologicaland technical solutions to ensure the smooth operation of the vessel monitoring systems.

Coastal localities were required to strengthen communications to encouragelocal fishermen to strictly abide by legal regulations on IUU fishing, improvethe efficiency of controlling the origin of fisheries products, and increaseinspections to ensure that exporting activities of aquatic products do not violateregulations against IUU fishing.

They was also asked to organise local fisheries surveillanceforces as per Fisheries Law 2017 and relevant legal regulations./.