Fighting illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing is a task of urgency for all levels, sectors, forces, and localities, especially coastal regions. The Provincial Border Guard Command of Quang Ngai has attached importance to this task as evidenced by its widespread implementation of many synchronous and effective solutions.

Quang Ngai, a coastal province with a 131 km-long coastline,​​ over 11,000 km2 territorial waters and 6 estuaries, is home to rich fisheries resources and fisheries industry development. Statistics show that as of September 2024, the province had 4,336 active fishing vessels at sea, 3,079 of which regularly operated offshore. The province’s large numbers of fishing vessels operating across the country’s seas, together with limited awareness of laws among a section of fishermen have made it difficult for the Provincial Border Guard to manage and inspect fishing activities. Meanwhile, there still remain shortcomings in sanctions against illegal fishing. Against this backdrop, closely following the assigned functions and tasks, the Provincial Border Guard’s Party Committee and Command have proactively advised the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee to adopt synchronous solutions for fighting illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, joining the province’s departments and sectors in efforts to have the "yellow card" imposed by the European Commission (EC) on the fisheries industry lifted.

The launch of the movement on fighting IUU fishing by the Provincial Border Guard Command

Accordingly, the Provincial Border Guard Command has thoroughly grasped and complied with Directive 102/CT-BQP, dated 13 December 2023 by the Ministry of National Defence on focusing on implementing urgent tasks and solutions to combat IUU fishing in an effort to have the EC's "yellow card" warning removed, Plan 399/KH-BDBP, dated 24 January 2024 by the Border Guard Force Command on organising and implementing the peak period against IUU fishing until the end of April 2024, Plan 199/KH-UBND, dated 20 November 2023 by the Provincial People's Committee on implementing urgent and central tasks and solutions against IUU fishing, towards preventing Vietnamese vessels from illegally fishing in foreign waters. It has also closely cooperated with departments, branches, and competent forces across the province to promote education and dissemination of laws among fishermen, to strengthen management, inspection, and control, and to resolutely prohibit “Three No’s” fishing vessels¹ from participating in seafood exploitation activities. The fishing vessel monitoring system operates around the clock to supervise fishing vessel activities at sea, provide early warning, and prevent them from violating foreign waters. At the same time, the Provincial Border Guard Command has proactively joined hands with other forces to avert the incitement to illegal fishing and strictly handle violations.

With drastic and synchronous solutions, since early 2024, the Provincial Border Guard Command has constantly sent officers and soldiers to patrol, inspect, and control at estuaries, inlets, boat moorings and at sea, registered and controlled 24,107 fishing boats in accordance with the law, and joined inter-sectorial working groups of the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Fisheries Sub-Department in inspecting anti-IUU fishing efforts at fishing ports in preparation for the EC delegation’s 5^th inspection. So far, the Provincial Border Guard Command and competent forces have handled 108 cases/106 vehicles with more than VND 2.35 billion in fines in accordance with Decree 42/2019/ND-CP and Decree 38/2024/ND-CP by the Government, contributing to significantly reducing IUU fishing-related violations, which is highly appreciated by the Border Guard Force Command and local authorities.

Promoting the above-mentioned achievements, the Provincial Border Guard’s Party Committee and Command place emphasis on making greater contributions to efforts to have the EC's "yellow card" warning removed, enabling fishermen to devote themselves single-mindedly to “sticking to the sea” and protecting the national sovereignty over seas and islands.

First of all, it is important to promote the leadership and direction of Party committees and commanders at all levels and to closely cooperate with local authorities in bringing into full play overall strength in anti-IUU fishing efforts. This solution is the key to uniform awareness and thoughts and promoting a sense of responsibility among cadres, party members and soldiers in practice. Accordingly, the Provincial Border Guard Command has required all of its affiliates to continuously grasp resolutions, directives and instructions, especially Directive 32-CT/TW dated 10 April 2024 by the Party Secretariat on strengthening the Party's leadership in anti-IUU fishing efforts and sustainable development of the fisheries sector, Resolution 52/NQ-CP dated 22 April 2024 by the Government, Resolution 04/2024/NQ-HDTP, dated 12 June 2024 by the Council of Judges of the Supreme People's Court on guidelines for the application of some provisions of the Penal Code on criminal prosecution for illegal exploitation, trading, and transportation of aquatic products, along with plans and decisions by the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People's Committee, and the Border Guard Force Command on implementing Directive 32-CT/TW and Resolution 52/NQ-CP. Grounded on those documents, each unit is to adopt and execute its action plans in line with its area of responsibility and assigned tasks.

Moreover, the Provincial Border Guard Command has continued to cooperate with local Party committees, authorities, and forces to promote education and dissemination of laws among residents in coastal border areas, especially boat owners and captains, with a focus on clarifying the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's laws, especially the Law of the Sea of ​​Vietnam, the Law on Fisheries, the EC's recommendations on combating IUU fishing, and sanctions for violations. To improve efficiency, along with special programs on mass media on "Preventing and eliminating IUU fishing vessels to have the EC’s yellow card warning removed soon", Fanpage "Paracel Fleet", billboards, posters with slogans in the sea borders, propaganda leaflets, the Provincial Border Guard Command has continued to guide fishermen through how to keep accurate records of and submit reports on their fisheries exploitation. Simultaneously, it has strengthened inspection and maintained the operation of voyage monitoring equipment on vessels as well as strictly implemented the direction of the Provincial People's Committee that requires cadres and party members to monitor owners and captains of fishing vessels operating at sea, etc., in an effort to raise fishermen’s awareness, enabling them to commit themselves not to encroach on foreign waters. It has also encouraged fishermen to exploit the waters of the Spratly archipelago, thereby continuing to affirm Vietnam's sovereignty and enjoying benefits from fishing logistics service areas, ship locks, and fishing villages, etc.

Along with effectively performing the task of education and dissemination, the Provincial Border Guard Command has continued to comprehensively deploy border protection measures while proactively collaborating with functional agencies in grasping the situation, undertaking investigations, making statistical records, closely monitoring and inspecting vessels at "high risk" of violating foreign waters as a precaution. In the immediate term, it investigates and reviews fishing vessels according to the plan of localities in order to grasp the current situation (the number of vessels, fishing vessels registered, inspected, licenced; fishing vessels transferred, bought and sold, deregistered; fishing vessels operating outside the province, fishing vessels that have not installed a voyage monitoring device - VMS), thereby developing plans and measures against “Three No’s” fishing vessels and those unqualified for aquaculture exploitation. It has also closely supervised 100% of fishing vessels operating at sea through the fishing vessel monitoring system, and kept track of VMS disconnections, fishing vessels violating foreign waters, etc. It has closely collaborated with local Party committees, authorities, and functional agencies in investigating and strictly handling violations of foreign waters for illegal fishing as well as IUU fishing activities while publicising those violation cases on mass media as a deterrent.

In order to overcome difficulties in managing large sea areas with many channels and wharves where ships can freely pass and anchor, the Provincial Border Guard Command has concentrated on making breakthroughs in improving the quality of management, patrolling, controlling, and combating sea law violations. Thoroughly grasping and implementing Regulation 4968/QyĐ-BDBP dated 2 December 2021 by the Border Guard Force Command on maritime patrol missions of Border Guard Posts at sea and on islands, Regulation 3256/QyĐ-BDBP dated 8 August 2022 by the Border Guard Force Command on the scope, tasks, and border control operations of Border Control Stations at sea and on islands, the Provincial Border Guard Command has proactively made plans and strengthened mobile patrol and control teams. In particular, it has focused on islands, flats, estuaries, and inlets to inspect and control all fishing vessels with a height of 15 metres and over entering and leaving designated fishing ports, resolutely forbidding fishing vessels and fishermen from leaving ports for fishing if ineligible. It has continued to enhance information exchange with its counterparts nationwide to control fishing vessels operating in Quang Ngai and other localities. It has also assigned personnel to coordinate joint forces at the fisheries control representative offices located at fishing ports to inspect, control, trace sources of aquatic products.

Furthermore, the Provincial Border Guard Command has closely cooperated with local Party committees, authorities, and functional agencies in enhancing the effectiveness of fishing unions, the model of "unified and safe fishing boats", and "self-managed wharfs" and promoting social security activities, thus contributing to improving the people’s material and spiritual life, enabling fishermen to devote themselves single-mindedly to “sticking to the sea”, having the EC's "yellow card" warning removed soon, promoting economic development, and protecting national sovereignty over seas and islands.

Sr. Col. TRAN TUAN ANH

Commander of the Provincial Border Guard Command

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1- “Three No’s”: no identification, no registration, no fishing licence.