In 2018, there were 3 cases in Phu Yen of 5 fishing vessels with 34fishermen arrested by foreign countries for illegal fishing. After thesefishermen were returned to the country, the province has directed to strictlyhandle. The Provincial People's Committee requires relevant departments,branches and localities to continue propagating and preventing fishermen fromorganizing seafood exploitation in foreign waters and urgently overcomingproblems that the European Commission has recommended.
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Dong Hoa district fishermen move ocean tuna to the shore |
According tothe Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, after these fishermen werereturned to the country, the provincial functional departments have strictlydealt with violations. Accordingly, fishing vessel PY95003TS of Mr. Nguyen VanTy in Quarter 6, Phu Dong Ward (Tuy Hoa City) and 5 crew members were arrestedby Indonesian functional forces when illegally exploiting seafood in the watersfrom the day of April 14, 2017 to June 9, 2017, 5 crew members were returned toVietnam, Mr. Nguyen Van Ty was fined 20 months in prison and on December 12, 2018Mr. Ty was returned to Vietnam.
According to the Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development, Phu Yen currently has about 4,150 fishingvessels, of which about 1,170 fishing boats with a capacity of 90CV or more,the number of fishing vessels that are regularly qualified for fishing in thefar seas is about 560 vessels and they are mainly used for tuna fishingactivities.
The provincehas implemented many activities to create a strong change in fishermen's senseof respect and compliance with the provisions of the law of Vietnam andadjacent countries on the exploitation of marine products in the sea. Phu Yen hasalso implemented many measures to conserve and manage resources, associatedwith the fisheries management plan, control exploitation strength, ensuresustainable use of resources, and step by step solve all the violated actionsof illegal, unreported and unregulated seafood exploitation in the sea and at thefishing ports in the province.
Mr. Ha Vien,Director of Phu Yen Fishing Port Management Board, said: Until now, at Dong Tacfishing port (Tuy Hoa city), Phu Lac (Dong Hoa district) basically solved theproblems in the stages of import updates and export ship records; supervise theprocess of fishing, production and ship entering dock logbook, goods throughthe port. From the beginning of the year until now, there have been nearly1,000 turns of fishing vessels at Dong Tac and Phu Lac ports.
The Phu YenFishing Port Management Board has collaborated with the Provincial Border Guardto propagate and mobilize fishermen to strictly abide by the regulations onmarine seafood exploitation and not violate the exploitation of seafood inforeign waters. The working group of representative offices of fisheryinspection, checking and control at ports provided guidance for fishermen torecord seafood logging logs and confirm the exploitation of seafood products....
Mr. Tran KimHoa, an old fisherman in Ward 6 (Tuy Hoa City), said: Over the past time, therewere still some captains and owners of fishing boats who had low awareness,violated the waters of other countries to exploit seafood illegally. Illegalseafood exploitation not only causes economic consequences but also canfishermen be arrested, imprisoned, fined, or even exchanged with their ownlives.
The stricthandling of captains and ship owners deliberately violating fishing grounds incountries such as prohibiting offshore exploitation, not supporting the stateregimes ... will be effective in deterring boats, other ship owners and shipcaptains who intend to exploit seafood illegally. Therefore, it is importantfor each ship owner to propagate and raise awareness for the captain and crewmembers.
Mr. Le QuangDam, Director of Hung Phong Seafood Company, said: Hung Phong Seafood Co., Ltd.is one of the enterprises collecting ocean tuna in the province. The EU "yellowcard" caution for Vietnamese seafood also had a great influence on the PhuYen market.
In order forPhu Yen tuna to export to fastidious markets, the first thing is that fishermenmust comply with all international regulations, such as the exploitation of thesea, the logbook to be able to trace the origin of the products.
In addition,Phu Yen fishermen need to invest in large-capacity fishing vessels to exploitmore efficiently, the equipments on board must also be modern to meet thedemand of good preservation of post-harvest products. Fishermen should startfishing on a short-term basis or have a fish fast-moving to shore solution to toproduce the highest quality products.
Particularlyfor our company, we are cooperating with some fishermen in the province toinvest in good preservation equipment after exploitation ... If theseconditions are met, the EU will soon abolish the warning "yellowcard" for Vietnamese seafood, offshore fishing will be more sustainable todevelop.
Source: Phu YenNewspaper
Translated by HAI LOAN