Binh Thuan (VNA) – The south-central coastal province of Binh Thuan has become the first locality in the country where all vessels have been certified seaworthy, according to Huynh Quang Huy, Director of provincial Fisheries Sub-Department.

By the end of March, Binh Thuan has granted temporary registration for more than 2,380 vessels, he said. This is one of the province’s efforts to carry out the European Commission’s recommendations about illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing prevention and control, towards the goal of having the EC's “yellow card” warning lifted.
Huy said that this move will facilitate the control of exploitation of aquatic resources and strictly handle fishing violations, adding that fishermen benefit from a well-inspected fishery industry.

Earlier, as authorised by the local administration, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in coordination with the provincial Border Guard Command and relevant agencies to make a list of vessels with a length of at least 6m that have not been registered in the locality.

It was found that Binh Thuan province had 2,380 such vessels, mainly in localities such as Tuy Phong, Bac Binh, Phan Thiet city, Ham Thuan Nam, La Gi, Ham Tan and Phu Quy districts. They are fishing vessels that have not been re-registered in line with the provisions of the 2017 Fisheries Law or those that have changed owners but have not yet carried out transfer procedures as required.

The number of "3 Nos" vessels (no registration, no re-registration, no license) operating in the coastal areas is quite large. But they don’t meet the conditions and procedures for official registration, leading to difficulties in licensing aquatic resources exploitation. Thus, the local administration has granted licences to ensure that all fishing vessels in the province operate in accordance with law./.