THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM
Government News
Legal proceedings taken against boat captain fishing illegally in foreign waters
VGP - The Border Guard Command of the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau has launched criminal legal proceedings against a local captain of a fishing vessel for driving the vessel and five crew members to foreign waters to fish illegally.
Local authorities work with the captain of the fishing vessel - Photo: Border Guard Command of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province
This is the first criminal case involving illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing in the southtern provnice.
The provincial Border Guard Command received the related information on May 17 and promptly instructed relevant agencies to investigate and verify the violation.
Further investigation is being carried out by the provincial police's Security Investigation Agency.
Viet Nam has shown high determination in combating IUU fishing in a bid to lift the European Commission's "yellow card" against its seafood exports.
Right after the EC's imposition of "yellow card" in 2017, Viet Nam promptly enacted the Fisheries Law and established fishing vessel data covering registration and the issuance of fishing licenses from central to local levels.
The Southeast Asian nation has increased sanctions and stepped up penalties for fishing vessels violating regulations on IUU fishing prevention and control.
As of May 21, 2024, the country had had 98.25 percent of fishing vessels of at least15 meters in length equipped with a vessel monitoring system (VMS)./.