Making news
Ca Mau hailed for tightening violation settlement, strengthening fisheries digitalisation
Fishing boats at the Doc River estuary, Ca Mau province. (Photo: VNA)
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phung Duc Tien on October 31 acknowledged the efforts made by the southernmost province of Ca Mau in strictly controlling its fishing fleet, handling violations, and promoting the digitalisation of fisheries data.
At a meeting with the provincial People’s Committee regarding its fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, Tien stressed that as Ca Mau owns one of the largest fishing fleet in the country, its results in combating IUU fishing are highly significant for Vietnam’s overall goal of having the European Commission (EC)’s ‘yellow card’ warning lifted.
The ministry praised the proactive efforts of the local political system, he stated, urging the province to continue thoroughly reviewing and tracing violating fishing vessels, strengthening administrative discipline, and ensuring that fisheries data is always updated and transparent.
Following the directives of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to strengthen measures against IUU fishing, Ca Mau has recently implemented a series of coordinated actions to tightly control its fleet, trace violations, and strictly handle offenders.
Le Van Su, Vice Chairman of the Ca Mau provincial People’s Committee, stated that as of October 30, the province had 5,230 active fishing vessels, of which 1,942 are 15 metres or longer, and required to install Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) devices. Notably, 100% of the required have completed the installation. Any cases of signal loss have been promptly updated, traced, and handled according to the digitalised procedures.
At the same time, efforts to raise awareness and disseminate legal regulations on combating IUU fishing have been intensified, reaching every fisherman and vessel owner. Over 8,200 news articles and messages, 24 television reports, 5,000 leaflets, and 10,000 posters have been distributed. Local radio systems broadcast IUU fishing prevention content twice daily. These diverse communication methods have helped fishermen fully understand the consequences of violations.
Ca Mau has detected and handled over 470 administrative violations in the fisheries sector, totalling more than 10 billion VND (380,000 USD) in fines, including 43 cases of VMS disconnection. All cases have been updated in the management software to ensure transparent tracking.
Su affirmed that Ca Mau regards combating IUU fishing as an important and long-term political task, and is determined to strictly handle violations and promptly recognise and reward organisations and individuals who perform well or introduce innovative initiatives and effective practices in fisheries management./.
