According to annual statistics, Vietnam’s sea-based economy accounts for an increasingly large proportion of the country’s national economy, contributing greatly to its socio-economic development. In particular, over one million people with hundreds of thousands of boats and ships are fishing on the seas daily. What is worth mentioning is that fishing (particularly on high seas) with the regular presence of fishermen not only brings about huge economic benefit but also contributes to asserting national sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction and maintaining defense and security on the country’s seas. However, besides the achievements, fishery exploitation is taking place rather complicatedly on seas with numerous violations of law, even the depletion of environment and fishing ground of both domestic and overseas individuals and organizations.

One of the modern ships of the Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance

Facing the situation, the Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance was founded and organizationally unified through out the country. This specialized force is a governmental department, directly under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, tasked with state management over fisheries resources on Vietnam’s seas. For its regular, effective and legal operations, on 29 November 2012, the Government issued the Decree No.102/2012/NĐ-CP on the organization and operation of Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance Department. Accordingly, at the Article 4 of the decree, its rights and tasks have been stipulates as:

“1. Giving advice, proposing and participating in the building of policies, mechanisms, legal documents on fisheries resources surveillance in pursuant with empowerment.

2. Patrolling, inspecting, detecting and handling violations of Vietnam’s fishery laws and regulations occurred in the country’s seas.

3. Sanctioning administrative violations, applying deterring methods for illegal actions of domestic and overseas individuals and organizations conducting fishery activities in Vietnam’s seas.

4. Demanding related agencies, organizations and individuals to provide necessary information, documents for patrolling, checking, supervising, detecting and sanctioning violation  of laws on fisheries resources.

5. Disseminating and broadcasting Vietnamese and international laws on fisheries resources; instructing fishermen, organizations and individuals to obey legal regulations on fisheries resources.

6. Participating in disaster prevention and cooperating on search and rescue; participating in the protection of national sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction on seas in accordance with the law.

7. Participating in international cooperation on fisheries resources in accordance with international treaties, which Vietnam is a signatory.

8. Hosting and coordinating with related agencies and organizations to open training courses for its staff.

9. Carrying out specialized inspections and other assigned tasks”.

These are important legal foundations for the force, organizations, individuals and the whole people to implement and follow, making contribution  to the maintenance and strictly follow laws on fisheries resources on the country’s seas.

Dinh Duy