Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran
Chau said the provincial authorities issued 13 documents, while the provincial
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development issued 16 documents, taking
urgent measures to address the warning.
The provincial People’s Committee held six meetings with departments and
localities to deal with the issue, he said, expressing his hope that EC will
lift its “yellow card” warning on Vietnamese seafood on January 1, 2019.
Phan Trong Ho, Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural
Development, said the province withdrew seafood exploitation licences, as well
as removed registrations of fishing vessels found to have commit violations and
announced them on the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s online
portal and local radio stations.
The provincial authorities also reviewed the responsibility of leaders of the
communal Hoai Nhon and Phu Cat district People’s Committees for violations. Binh
Dinh has improved its management and inspection capacity to fight IUU at
seaports, as well as completed a project on the establishment of a local
Fisheries Surveillance Agency, which is scheduled to be put into operation later
this year, he said.
Gabriel, for his part, said that nearly half local fishing vessels go fishing
offshore, adding that in order to fight IUU fishing effectively, strong
commitments from the fishing community and management agencies are needed.
European parliamentarians lauded Vietnam’s progress in legal reform to respond
to the warning.
The same day, the delegation paid working trips to Quy Nhon seaport, Binh Dinh
fishery JSC, and Binh Dinh Tuna Association.
Source: VNA