BacLieu (VNA) - The Mekong Delt🧔a province of Bac Lieu has adopted a widerange of measures to raise awareness and legal understanding among local fishermenabout preventing and fighting illegal fishing.

Theprovincial fisheries industry has witnessed strong development over recent years,contributing significantly to increasing incomes for fishermen. But legal violationsin fishing activities remain common. Accordingto Tran Xi Khuol, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Fisheries, fishinghas been considered a key economic sector of Bac Lieu for many years. Butproblems linger, such as illegal, unreported andunregulated (IUU) fishing, especiallyfishing without permits, a lack of safety equipment on fishing vessels, and fishing reports notbeing submitted in line with regulations. Though patrols have been carried out regularly, violations have notbeen handled thoroughly, Khuol said. The main cause of the situation is that fishermen do not fully understand the 2017 Law on Fisheries, he believed. Local authorities have promoted communications activities to raisepublic awareness about the law, relevant legal documents, and technical measures,helping local fishermen comply with the law and contributing to preserving, managing,and utilising aquatic resources sustainably. Theprovincial People’s Committee has so far organised 18 programmes on legalmatters for 1,086 ship owners and fishermen. Theprovince has also supported local fishermen in building large-capacity vesselsand upgrading equipment and logistics services, while creating favourable conditionsfor them to maintain operations in traditional fishing grounds. Bac Lieu has 1,142 registered fishing boats, including 485 with a minimum lengthof 15 metres. As of October 8, 2020, it had issued 720 fishing permits under the 2017 Law on Fisheries,including 453 offshore fishing permits and 267 onshore fishing permits. It alsohas 350 fishing vessels equipped with cruise control devices, or72.2 percent of the total. In the first nine months of 2020, nearly 1,200 vessels and three shipbuilding yardswere inspected, with 11 administrative violations detected./.