Fishermen transport fish to Vinh Truong port , Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa province. (Photo: Dang Tuan/VNA)

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), there currently remain cases of Vietnamese fishing vessels infringing on foreign waters, failing to meet the goal of putting an end to IUU fishing before December 30, 2021 as assigned by the Prime Minister.

To date, the "yellow card" has yet to be removed, and the sector and local authorities still have to make joint efforts and join hands in combating IUU fishing to deal with violations.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said that after its delegation’s inspection last month, the EC decided to give Vietnam an additional six months to address existing shortcomings in the implementation of the commission’s recommendations.

This is an importnt time to decide whether the fishery industry has the "yellow card" removed or not, Tien stressed, proposing the political system and each citizen take drastic actions and well implement the EC’s recommendations.

The MARD has also met with specialised units to carry out tasks against IUU fishing. In its action plan, the ministry will specify tasks for each ministry, sector and unit, and stress the importance of the coordination between competent agencies such as customs, coast guards, and border guards, with the goal of putting an end to IUU fishing before March 31, 2023.

The Ministry also emphasised the responsibility of each coastal locality, with the Heads of communes, wards and towns bearing the main responsibility in making a list of fishing vessels and their owners that once violated foreign waters to send to the MARD and the Ministry of National Defence for monitoring; and stepping up communications to raise public awareness on this issue.

The MARD will send working delegations to inspect the fight against IUU fishing in each locality, added Deputy Minister Tien.