The central coastal province of Phu Yen has handled 50 ship owners with suspected violations following recommendations made by the European Commission (EC) on anti-illegal, undeclared, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, heard a working session on April 19.

The session between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the local authorities followed the ministry’s inspection of the province’s implementation of the EC recommendations.

The Directorate of Fisheries found that Phu Yen has fully carried out the legal provisions on combating IUU fishing, particularly regarding the control of vessel movements and fishing logs. Most local offshore fishing boats have installed vessel monitoring devices.

Deputy General Director of the Directorate of Fisheries Nguyen Quang Hung said Phu Yen has for years seen no fishing vessels intruding into foreign waters, which is important to the country’s fight against IUU.

The province’ anti-IUU efforts must be sustained, especially its punishments of violations, he noted.

The EC's inspection team is expected to visit Vietnam from May 24 to 31 to inspect the implementation of the recommendations for the 4th time.

Phu Yen currently exports a large volume of tuna and swordfish to the European market.

As of March 31, the province had 1,922 operating vessels and a fishing workforce of about 20,520. In the first quarter of 2023, its marine fishing production was estimated at 16,644 tonnes, up 0.2% year-on-year./.