Prevention and response to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing are one of key political tasks of levels, branches, forces, localities, and the whole people. This is also a vital mission the 4th Coast Guard Region’s Party Committee and Command concentrate on leading and directing implementation seriously, contributing to the European Union’s consideration of lifting its yellow card imposed on Viet Nam’s fisheries sector.

The 4th Coast Guard Region is entrusted with controlling and undertaking law enforcement in the waters stretching from the north of the mouth of Dinh An River, Tra Vinh province to the Cape of Ha Tien, Kien Giang province. This is a vast water, adjacent to the waters of Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia, thereby occupying a position of strategic importance in terms of economy, national defence, security, and diplomacy. It is because of those natural conditions that the inhabitants live mainly on fishery. Kien Giang province alone has over 9,000 fishing vessels. Besides, fishing vessels from the provinces of Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, Ben Tre, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Binh Dinh, and Quang Ngai usually engage in fishing activity in the waters. Given the concentration of fishing vessels and decreasing resources, the catch of fish reduces for many times and earnings of fishing vessels are not commensurate with level of investment. This is one of the fundamental causes that leads to violations of foreign waters.

Since July 2021, the 4th Region has been tasked with taking the lead in patrolling, controlling, detecting, timely preventing, and strictly punishing fishing vessels of Viet Nam deliberately engaging in IUU fishing, especially the illegal exploitation of resources in foreign waters. Being guided by the determination to stop Vietnamese fishing vessels from encroaching upon foreign waters to exploit resources illegally, making a vital contribution to European Commission’s removal of its ban on Vietnamese seafood in the European market, the 4th Coast Guard Region Party Committee and Command have issued a thematic resolution to lead all forces to adopt synchronous measures and determine to perform this crucial mission well. Accordingly, the Region requests its departments and units to select key contents close to their characteristics; develop training plans to improve skills, legal knowledge, and experience in combating IUU fishing of policemen, scouts, and crew members. They are also required to strengthen duties of guarding, most notably those at the command centres; promote propagation and dissemination of legal knowledge among fishmen, especially the shipowners and captains.

Commander of the Region and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu inspect southwestern sea

Additionally, the Region works closely with party committees and authorities of coastal provinces to mobilise all resources; leverage the role of the political system in localities, especially that of the grassroots party committees and authorities, with the aim of implementing synchronous, non-stop, effective solutions to prevent and combat IUU fishing. Duty officers at the Region Command Headquarters regularly grasp situations to timely identify fishing vessels losing signal connection with the cruise monitoring equipment and crossing maritime boundary lines to directly call the shipowners and captains to request them to abide by law. The on-site forces step up patrolling and controlling, especially at night-time, to resolutely punish deliberate violations within their jurisdiction or transfer records to people’s committees of provinces where the vessels are registered.

The Region requests its departments and units to promote propagation and popularisation of legal knowledge to facilitate fishermen’s thorough grasp of laws and other legal documents; combine propaganda with detecting and preventing acts of violation from afar without letting fishing vessels of Viet Nam enter foreign waters to exploit resources illegally. The departments and units also launch the competition titled “I love the seas and islands of my native land” and the program named “The Coast Guard accompanies fishermen;” work with central, local newspapers and radios to propagandise about results of their response to IUU fishing. In addition, the Region proactively coordinates forces to successfully control the use of cruise monitoring equipment installed on fishing vessels and strictly maintains duties of combat guarding, command guarding, and reconnaissance guarding to timely respond to situation without being made passive and surprised.

After more than a year in charge of patrol of the adjacent waters between Viet Nam and Malaysia, Viet Nam and Thailand, and Viet Nam and Cambodia, the Region has conducted eight patrols with the participation of over 60 vessels and 1,400 officers and soldiers to counter IUU fishing. It has worked closely with local party committees and authorities to propagandise law on fisheries for more than 15,000 fishermen and request shipowners and captains to sign declarations of refraining from IUU fishing; warned over 3,500 fishing vessels of losing signal connection with cruise monitoring equipment; detected and prevented more than 250 fishing vessels from entering foreign waters illegally; punished 225 violations with the involvement of nearly 300 vessels, including acts of serious violation. Those activities have had positive influence on improving shipowners’ and captains’ legal compliance. There are no cases where fishing vessels or fishermen reject or ignore signal from the patrol force. The number of Vietnamese fishing vessels deliberately committing IUU fishing, especially illegal exploitation of resources in foreign waters, has decreased dramatically. The outcome makes a vital contribution to European Commission’s consideration of removing its ban on Vietnamese seafood on EU market.

Despite the progress, the effectiveness of preventing and combating IUU fishing is still unsustainable. There remain limitations on legal documents governing punishment of IUU fishing and violations relating to cruise monitoring equipment, making difficulties for detecting and punishing violations. Consequently, to further enhance effectiveness of preventing and combating IUU fishing, the 4th Coast Guard Region seeks to focus on adopting the following fundamental solutions:

First, further attaching importance to leadership of implementation of drastic, synchronous measures with the aim of promoting quality and effectiveness of preventing and combating IUU fishing. Accordingly, the Region actively renews contents and methods to conduct propaganda to ensure its better substance and effectiveness. Priorities are given to the shipowners and captains, especially those with “high risk,” requiring them to sign declarations of refraining from IUU fishing. It also maintains regular coordination with local authorities and relevant forces such as the Border Guard, Subdivision of Fisheries, Fisheries Surveillance, Public Security, etc., to monitor shipowners’ and captains’ implementation of their pledges.

Second, it is necessary to enhance operational effectiveness of the Command Centre and duties of reconnaissance guard in closely monitoring waters of responsibility and work with departments, commissions, branches, and forces to conduct surveillance, control, inspect, and punish violations of resource exploitation at sea. The Region proactively adopts professional measures; carries out basic, intensive investigation into fishing vessels identified as missing or with high risk of committing IUU fishing; stops objects and rings of people suspected law violation; timely draws lessons learnt, laying the foundation for proposing solutions to prevent and combat IUU fishing more effectively.

Third, there needs to regularly exchange information about entry and exit of fishing vessels at the ports, catches of fish, lists of crew members and shipowners, itineraries, fishing diary, and all activities throughout the journey. Once every six-month, functional forces need to fully update information about shipowners to facilitate management and supervision, thereby timely detecting IUU fishing and strictly punishing those brokering deployment of fishing vessels and fishermen to exploit resources illegally in foreign waters.

Fourth, forces 24/7 on duty at the Region Command Headquarters are strictly maintained. The on-site forces intensify patrol, especially at night, to proactively identify fishing vessels losing signal connection with cruise monitoring equipment and vessels with “high risk” in order to give warning to shipowners and captains; work with localities where the vessel is registered to call for the shipowners to seriously comply with law. The on-site forces are required to timely detect, inspect, and strictly punish those who deliberately violate law; take action to stop Vietnamese fishing vessels from fishing illegally in foreign waters.

Fifth, the Region is to proactively advise their higher echelons to supplement and amend legal documents governing the fisheries sector, ensuring synchronicity, closeness, and feasibility. This is a vital legal basis for reducing and advancing towards ceasing IUU fishing; establishing and developing the fishing vessels in association with strengthening defence, security posture in the Southwestern waters of the Fatherland.

Senior Colonel TRAN VAN LUONG, Commander of the 4th Coast Guard Region