A delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development led by Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong on July 25 inspected fish farming and fishing activities as well as coastal erosion in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.

Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong (standing) addresses the working session 

Kien Giang is one of the localities with large natural areas, numerous rivers and canals as well as a long coastline, which are favourable conditions for the localities in aquatic farming.

Currently, the province has over 281,000 hectares of aquatic farms, with an output of over 97,000 tonnes of products of all kinds.

Provincial authorities have strengthened inspection and supervision to detect fishing vessels violating foreign waters.

From October 2017 to June 2019, 871 vessels were inspected, with violations found in 118 vessels and over 200 million VND of fine imposed.

The number of offshore fishing vessels has been closely managed, regular patrols conducted.

In the first six months of this year, Kien Giang finished the harvesting of the Winter-Spring 2018-2019 rice crop of more than 353,000 hectares. 

In the period, the province has formed 28 massive fields with a total area of over 23,000 hectares. Total rice export revenue of the province hit 94.66 million USD.

Addressing a working session with provincial leaders, Minister Cuong underlined the need for Kien Giang to prevent fishing vessels from violating foreign waters by tightening control and strengthening communications among fishermen.

Kien Giang’s result in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is significant to the whole country in preventing illegal fishing in other countries’ waters, he noted.

The minister proposed that Kien Giang’s Border Guard, Coast Guard and Fisheries Surveillance forces coordinate closely together in implementing measures against IUU fishing, while defining the responsibility of each district and commune if violations happen.