Struggling against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is an important mission which has been paid attention to by all levels, organs and forces for the aims of sustainable development and removal of the EC’s “yellow card” for our seafood industry. This is also the issue which the Party Committee and Command of Thanh Hoa Provincial Border Guard have intensely led and directed with many synchronous and suitable solutions.

Thanh Hoa province has a coastline of 102km and a sea water area of 23,000km² with 06 channels, 01 fishing port and many other ports, piers and sandbars which are suitable for the fishing boats to catch fish and berth. The province’s sea border has 43 communes and wards in 06 districts, towns and cities; with nearly 7 thousand of fishing boats, attracting over 24 thousand workers. In the past time, although there have been active changes and efforts against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, some specific fishing boats in the Province and from other regions have not prepared enough procedures and documents, turned on the vessel monitoring devices and maintained the right communication frequencies; they have even fished in wrong areas and routes, made neither fishing records nor right dockings; they have not had any insurance for their fishermen, etc., which has caused serious effects on the seafood exploitation industry and the nation’s image.

Hai Hoa Border Post conducts legal dissemination

In this situation, and based on the thorough grasp of guiding documents from the Central Military Commission, Defence Ministry, Border Guard Command, Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee, the Provincial Border Guard has made efforts and determination together with the political system and the whole people to synchronously and completely implement many policies and solutions against IUU fishing, achieving many important results. In 2024, the Provincial Border Guard Command issued 01 resolution, 03 plans, 15 documents and 28 telegrams on combatting IUU fishing; conducted 115 propaganda days for 2,998 people, hung 36 banners, built 08 programmes on Thanh Hoa Radio and Television and broadcast 228 times on the communal radio system, distributed 3,000 leaflets on 14 cases of violations of IUU fishing. Together, the Provincial Border Guard Command established 02 specialised working groups, appointed 35 cadres from offices and mountain-route units to sea-route units; directed 06 sea-route units to found specialised groups, 08 patrol groups including 123 soldiers, 21 boats and vessels to patrol, inspect, seize and solve any engagements of IUU fishing in the river mouths and main areas at sea; sent forces to take part in the interdisciplinary working groups organised by Service of Agriculture and Rural Development to investigate and punish any fishing boats of the Province fishing and berthing in other provinces having engaged IUU fishing. Especially, the sub-units and professional departments of the Provincial Border Guard sent 568 vehicles and 2,688 cadres and soldiers to patrol, check and inspect 2,526 fishing boats and 15,156 workers; discovered, investigated and punished 111 cases, 122 suspects and 115 vehicles breaking the rules, etc.

However, the great number of fishing boats together with the decreasing sources of seafood in the traditional fishing grounds have been making the IUU fishing more complicated. Taking advantage of the long seashore with many channels, sandbars, etc., which are hard to control, some fishing boats have used tricks such as: making use of night and rain to go fishing without any reports, using false number plates, hiding a part of the number plates, etc. in order to escape from the check and inspection by the authorised forces. Hence, in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the struggle against IUU fishing in the coming time, the Provincial Border Guard’s Party Committee and Command have paid attention to implementing some main tasks and solutions as follows:

Firstly, closely combining the thorough grasp of documents and directives with strengthening the leadership, direction and management of all-level party committees and commands on this important task. This is a primary solution, deciding the effectiveness of the struggle against IUU fishing in the new situation. Therefore, the Provincial Border Guard’s Party Committee and Command have continued to seriously grasp and implement plans, directives and documents by the Secretariat, Government. Defence Ministry, Border Guard Command, the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee on combatting IUU fishing, focusing on the Directive No. 32-CT/TW, dated 10 April 2024 by the Secretariat on strengthening the leadership of the Party over the struggle against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and the sustainable development of Fisheries industry; Directive No. 102/CT-BQP, dated 13 December 2023 by the Defence Ministry on performing the tasks and solutions for combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and removing the EC’s “yellow card”; Document No. 4848/BĐBP-TM, dated 11 September 2024 by the Border Guard Command on implementing the Conclusion by the Prime Minister in the Conference on IUU fishing prevention; and Announcement of the Conclusion No. 446-TB/VPTU, dated 12 September 2024 by the Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee in the Conference on evaluating the implementation of the task of IUU fishing prevention within Thanh Hoa province. The Provincial Border Guard, on this basis, has concretised these documents into their resolutions, plans and action programmes to speed up the implementation, focusing on proposing solutions for strengthening the leadership and direction of the party committees and commands at all levels; clearly defining the individual and collective responsibilities, highlighting the responsibilities of the heads of offices and units in their registering, managing the  entrance and exit from and to piers, investigating and solving any boats having committed IUU fishing, at the same time, regularly strengthened and given further professional training to cadres directly doing the management and control in stations, assuring the quality and quality, continued to make plans on peak periods of struggling against IUU fishing in the Province in the coming time.

Check fishing boats operating at sea

Secondly, improving the effectiveness of the propaganda, dissemination and education of law for fishermen. One of the main reasons causing the commitment of IUU fishing is because of the people’s limited knowledge of law. Therefore, the Provincial Border Guard has advocated continuously enhancing the propaganda and dissemination of regulations on IUU fishing prevention to fishermen with many contents in plentiful and various forms. For the contents, the Provincial Border Guard has focused on the 2017 Fisheries Law, Decree No. 38/2024/NĐ-CP, dated 05 April 2024 by the Government regulating the penalties for administrative violations against regulations on fisheries, Resolution No. 04/2024/NQ-HĐTP, dated 12 June 2024 by the Justice Council of the Supreme People's Court guiding the regulations of the Criminal Law on prosecuting the criminal liability for behaviours relating to illegal exploitation, trading and transportation of seafood. For the methods, the Provincial Border Guard has intensely coordinated with other functional forces and local governments to make propaganda to each fisherman’s family, encourage ship owners and captains to strictly comply with the law on seafood exploitation and fishing at sea; publicly announced any violations which have been punished on the mass media in order to propagandize, warn and admonish of the consequences of violating IUU fishing, at the same time, continued to build specialised programmes on Thanh Hoa Radio and Television, replay on the radio at communal level, distribute leaflets and booklets of violation cases of IUU fishing in order to improve the awareness and responsibility for fishermen.

All professional departments and units have combined their tasks of patrolling and inspecting the areas with propagandising and disseminating the law on IUU fishing prevention for all boats fishing at sea. Propaganda officers have taken specific examples of violations which have been punished, and actions of deceiving and inducing fishing boats and fishermen to foreign waters to do their illegal fishing in order to warn and deter any cases of likely violations, and help fishermen to raise their vigilance.

Thirdly, performing synchronously and effectively the management, patrol, inspection and punishment of any violations of IUU fishing. Accordingly, any professional departments and mountain-route units of the Provincial Border Guard have enhanced their inspection and speeded up the border control and port border stations, patrol and control groups to strictly maintain their management, registration, check and inspection of any fishermen and fishing boats from and to the ports and at sea, assuring 100% of departing boats have enough administrative procedures, equipment and technical safety as regulated; timely discover and coordinate with other forces to strictly punish any violations of IUU fishing.

All departments and units have synchronously used their working methods such as using the vessel tracking system to monitor the fishing boats which are likely to invade foreign waters; through the patrol and information from the coordinated forces and secret bases among fishermen working at sea, etc. to catch the fishing boats violating IUU fishing; coordinated with localities, families of captains and owners to inspect, verify and complete documents and punishment in accordance to the law, at the same time, continued to coordinate with other forces to investigate and verify organisations, individuals and lines taking fishing boats and fishermen to do their fishing in foreign waters; made intense management, inspection and strict control of any cases which are most likely to engage in IUU fishing.

Fourthly, strengthening the cooperation and coordination with other related forces to improve the effectiveness of combatting IUU fishing. Accordingly, the Provincial Border Guard has continued to coordinate with the Service of Agriculture and Rural Development and coastal areas to increase the methods of managing the fishing boats, such as counting, classifying and managing every fishing boat, speeding up the registration, marking and licensing of the fishing boats; suspending the number plates or holding on-site any “3-nos” boats; making the 24/7 monitor for all boats installed with the tracking system fishing at sea. The Provincial Border Guard has closely coordinated with the functional forces and local governments to continuously maintain the models of “Groups of solid and safe boats and ships”, “Self-managed piers”, especially the model of “Groups of community supervision for IUU fishing prevention”, which are led by chairmen of communes and wards and taken part by managing cadres of fisheries, border guard, communal officials, secretaries and area leaders to track and discover any boats being likely to cross the borders, timely warn and call them back to Vietnam’s sea waters.

Together, the Provincial Border Guard has intensely coordinated with forces of Coast Guard, Navy, Fisheries Surveillance, Fisheries Department and Border Guard in provinces and governments of coastal areas to exchange information, investigate, check and punish any boats violating IUU fishing, at the same time, suddenly and periodically drawn experience and adjusted guidelines and solutions for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the task of IUU fishing prevention, together with other levels, organs and forces to intentionally remove the EC’s “yellow card”, making contribution to the sustainable development of Vietnam Fisheries Industry.

Senior Colonel DO NGOC VINH, Commander of Provincial Border Guard