Ministries, departments and local authorities responsible for ensuring resources and funds must urgently address existing deficiencies and limitations, stressed a related message from Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
The document, recognizing the existence of numerous positive advances in this regard, directs the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to continue organizing inspection teams to monitor and guide communities in the implementation of prevention tasks related to such practices.
The portfolio must also actively collaborate and help municipalities work with the European Commission (EC) delegation to achieve the best results in the fourth inspection that this facility must carry out in the last quarter of the year.
The government office also directs the Defense Ministry to take strict measures to prevent Vietnamese fishing boats and fishermen from participating in illegal fishing activities in foreign waters.
For its part, the Ministry of Public Security will be responsible for ensuring security before, during and after the EC team’s visit to Vietnam, while the Ministry of Transport and other relevant authorities will be responsible for exchanging information and delivering the relevant documents that are requested.
This last ministry, adds the text quoted by the VNA news agency, must instruct seaports to coordinate with relevant authorities in the preparation of documents to control foreign vessels transporting seafood harvested under Vietnamese law.
Last May, the EC’s decision to postpone the planned visit to Vietnam by a commission responsible for assessing the possible lifting of sanctions on national fisheries products was announced here.
As the head of the Fisheries Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Tran Dinh Luan, reported at the time, instead of the inspection trip planned for this month, the EC proposed holding online meetings in May, June and October before the working visit in which the elimination of the so-called yellow card.
The upcoming EC inspection will be the fourth to be carried out to assess how the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is progressing in this Indo-Chinese country.
By the end of April last year, in accordance with the above instruction, 97.5 percent of national fishing vessels complied with the installation of voyage monitoring devices and ten out of 28 coastal cities set up fisheries monitoring forces, two of the EC’s demands to end sanctions.
kmg/mpm