Nghe An cracks down on unlicensed fishing practices

Nghe An Province is taking steps to address problems in its fishing industry, aiming to have the “yellow card” warning by the European Commission lifted.

As of April 30, Nghe An has successfully registered 2,318 out of its 3,462 fishing vessels, achieving a 90.37% registration rate. Additionally, all of these vessels are now included in the Vnfishbase database.

A total of 935 fishing vessels, representing 86.18% of those required to be certified, have obtained valid food safety certificates. Notably, all active fishing vessels are now certified.

The province boasts a 96.95% success rate in equipping fishing vessels with voyage monitoring systems, with 1,052 out of the 1,085 vessels now compliant.

The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is working closely with the Border Guard and authorities of coastal districts and townships to educate fishermen and fishing companies on the proper use of the electronic catch documentation and traceability (eCDT) system, and to intensify inspections of fishing vessels entering and exiting estuaries.

Vessels that have lost their voyage monitoring system connection since January 25, along with unregistered, unlicensed, and unauthorized vessels, will face strict fines.