Decision No. 78/QD-TTg dated January 16, 2018 of the Prime Minister on approving the national action plan to prevent, minimize and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing up to 2025

DECISION

Approving the national action plan to prevent, minimize and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing up to 2025[1]

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the November 26, 2003 Law on Fisheries;

At the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,

DECIDES:

Article 1.To promulgate together with this Decision the national action plan to prevent, minimize and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing up to 2025.

Article 2.This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

Article 3.The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, other ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies, provincial-level People’s Committee chairpersons and related organizations and individuals shall implement this Decision.-

Prime Minister
NGUYEN XUAN PHUC

NATIONAL ACTION PLAN TO PREVENT, MINIMIZE AND ELIMINATE ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED AND UNREGULATED FISHING UP TO 2025

(Promulgated together with the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 78/QD-TTg of January 16, 2018)

I. VIEWPOINTS

1. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing decreases fisheries resources and affects Vietnam’s external relations and aquatic product exports in the international arena. The Vietnamese Government does neither tolerate nor encourage IUU fishing in domestic and international maritime zones. However, IUU fishing remains a socio-economic issue of historical nature which arises due to both objective and subjective causes and is coherent to small-scale fisheries. This requires appropriate, responsible and humanitarian approaches and solutions, especially time for conducting mobilization and education work in combination with imposing severe administrative sanctions in accordance with international law as well as the characteristics and law of each country.

2. Effective control of IUU fishing will contribute to maintaining fisheries resources and aquatic ecosystems and ensuring effective, safe and sustainable development of the fisheries industry; improving people’s lives and social justice; and maintaining national security in maritime zones.

3. This action plan conforms to Vietnam’s policies and laws on fisheries, including synchronous and comprehensive activities to ensure effective and practical prevention, minimization and elimination of IUU fishing in combination with sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources; international integration and improvement of prestige and affirmation of position of Vietnam in the international arena.

II. OBJECTIVES AND TASKS

1. Objectives

To prevent, minimize and eliminate IUU fishing by Vietnamese and foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam’s maritime zones, aiming to boost sustainable and responsible development of the fisheries industry, contributing to ensuring national and regional security and international integration and putting an end to illegal fishing by Vietnamese fishermen and fishing vessels in other countries’ maritime zones.

2. Tasks

a/ Tasks to be performed by April 2018

- To review and revise the documents relating to IUU fishing (Decree No. 53/2012/ND-CP; Decree No. 41/2017/ND-CP; Circular No. 50/2015/TT-BNNPTNT; Circular No. 25/2013/TT-BNNPTNT; Circular No. 26/2016/TT-BNNPTNT; and Circular No. 02/2006/TT-BTS) toward increasing the effectiveness of IUU fishing control in conformity with the European Commission’s recommendations and Vietnam’s practical conditions for management; to review and add fishing practices banned from application or banned from application for a certain period and maritime zones and aquatic species banned from fishing or banned from fishing for a certain period;

- To approve the scheme on ocean fishing;

- To approve the master plan on offshore fishing up to 2020, with a vision toward 2030;

- Based on practical requirements, to set up an interdisciplinary working group for IUU fishing prevention and combat, which shall be composed of a leader of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as its head;

- To establish and operate a system for controlling aquatic catches imported into Vietnam; to adjust and effectively operate the mechanism of certification of origin of domestic aquatic catches;

- To upgrade technical systems of shore stations at the Directorate of Fisheries and in 28 coastal provinces and cities so as to monitor and effectively use information collected from 10,000 fishing vessels representing fishing fleets (equivalent to around 30,000 fishing vessels equipped with communications devices), convert 3,000 terminal equipment under the MOVIMAR project, and  effectively use information and data from the above monitoring system for the  prevention, minimization and elimination of IUU fishing;

- To build a fisheries database (the scheme thereon has been submitted to the Prime Minister) in order to: (1) enhance the authentication, certification and tracing of domestic aquatic catches; and (2) establish an effective control system so as to refuse the import into Vietnam of IUU catches from foreign fishing vessels;

- To conduct communications programs to improve social awareness about the harms of IUU fishing to sustainable development of fisheries resources, social justice and Vietnam’s prestige in the international arena;

- To implement education and training programs in order to improve Vietnam’s law and international law observance by ship owners, ship masters, fishermen and fishing logistics service providers;

- To investigate, verify, detect and strictly handle cases of illegally sending fishing vessels and fishermen to operate in foreign countries’ maritime zones or illegally acting as brokers for ransoming fishing vessels and fishermen arrested by foreign countries;

- To guide organizations and individuals to conduct lawful fishing in overlapping maritime zones;

- To formulate detailed plans, programs and projects of ministries, sectors and 28 coastal provinces and cities so as to implement this action plan in an effective and practical manner.

b/ Tasks to be performed from May 2018 to 2020

- To enhance overall solutions to put an end to illegal fishing in foreign countries’ maritime zones and international maritime zones by Vietnamese fishing vessels and fishermen;

- To formulate documents guiding the implementation of the 2017 Law on Fisheries;

- To ratify the accession to international and regional fisheries management agreements concerning IUU fishing prevention and combat, such as the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA) and the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), and cooperate with or join (if possible) regional fisheries management organizations like the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), the  International Whaling Commission (IWC), the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT);

- To formulate and implement policies on career shift and sustainable livelihood for fishermen;

- To formulate the accountability mechanism applicable to heads of administrations of the localities that have fishing vessels illegally operating in foreign countries’ maritime zones;

- To design severe penalties for ship owners, ship masters, fishermen and those who abet IUU fishing as well as the trading and transportation of catches from vessels conducting IUU fishing;

- To investigate, verify, detect and severely handle cases of illegally sending fishing vessels and fishermen to operate in foreign countries’ maritime zones or illegally acting as brokers for ransoming fishing vessels and fishermen arrested by foreign countries;

- To consolidate fisheries resources surveillance forces at all levels so as to increase capacity for patrolling, controlling, and handling violations in maritime zones;

- To improve the law enforcement capacity of competent forces (Border Guard, Coast Guard, Fisheries Resources Surveillance Force, and specialized inspectorates) in maritime zones, fishing ports, fishing wharves and fishing markets;

- To improve the capacity for controlling and inspecting fishing vessels and certifying the output of catches unloaded from fishing vessels at fishing ports and wharves; to ensure that unloaded catches are controlled and have their origin certified at ports;

- To strictly control (in terms of quantity, category and origin) of imported aquatic product lots;

- To complete the building of a fisheries database on the basis of integrating information on vessels, fishing activities, labor, output of unloaded catches and origin tracing;

- To continue to upgrade the fishing vessel monitoring system and draw up a roadmap of compulsory installment of tracking devices on all offshore fishing vessels;

- To invest in the construction of 2 large-scale fisheries service centers, fishing ports and logistics service systems for foreign fishing vessels to anchor and unload their catches;

- To further survey and assess fisheries resource reserves and determine allowable catches serving the planning and management of fishing efforts in different maritime zones;

- To plan the fishing capacity and structure of fishing fleets in conformity with fisheries resource conditions in different maritime zones;

- To adjust and add some destructive fishing practices like bottom trawling, net trapping, etc., to the list of banned fishing practices and some aquatic species like holothurian and tridacna to the list of aquatic species banned from fishing;

- To conduct negotiations so as to send Vietnamese fishing vessels to lawfully operate in international waters and maritime zones of regional countries under the ocean fishing scheme;

- To negotiate and sign fisheries cooperation agreements with regional countries; to set up hotlines so as to handle events and incidents occurring in overlapping maritime zones;

- To guide organizations and individuals to conduct lawful fishing in overlapping maritime areas;

- To implement a communications program on IUU fishing prevention and combat at coastal educational institutions in a number of key provinces;

- To implement communications programs to raise public awareness about the harms of IUU fishing to sustainable development of fisheries resources, social justice and Vietnam’s prestige in the international arena;

- To implement education and training programs so as to improve law observance by ship owners, ship masters, fishermen and fishing logistics service providers.

c/ Tasks to be performed during 2021-2025

- To continue improving the system of legal documents and institutions on fisheries management;

- To continue implementing the policy on career shift and sustainable livelihood for fishermen;

- To improve law enforcement capacity of competent forces (Border Guard, Coast Guard, Fisheries Resources Surveillance Force, and specialized inspectorates) operating in maritime zones, fishing ports, fishing wharves and fishing markets;

- To strictly control (in terms of quantity, category and origin) of imported aquatic product lots;

- To further improve the capacity for controlling and inspecting fishing vessels, and certifying and tracing of catches unloaded at fishing ports and wharves in a synchronous manner; to ensure that all unloaded catches will be controlled and have their origin certified at ports;

- To investigate, verify, detect and strictly handle organizations and individuals that participate in or abet IUU fishing;

- To continue upgrading the fishing vessel monitoring system and install more tracking devices on board offshore fishing vessels, striving for the target that all offshore fishing vessels operating in inshore waters and offshore waters are tracked;

- To build 3 large-scale fisheries service centers, fishing ports and logistics service systems for foreign fishing vessels to anchor and unload catches;

- To further survey and assess fisheries resource reserves and determine allowable catches serving the planning and management of fishing efforts in different maritime zones;

- To implement programs and master plans to manage the fishing capacity and protect marine fisheries resources in different maritime zones;

- To implement a communications program on IUU fishing prevention and combat at coastal educational institutions;

- To implement communications programs to raise public awareness about the harms of IUU fishing to sustainable development of fisheries resources, social justice and Vietnam’s prestige in the international arena;

- To implement education and training programs so as to improve law observance by ship owners, ship masters, fishermen and fishing logistics service providers;

- To participate in multilateral cooperation forums and international fisheries management organizations and enter into bilateral cooperation in the fisheries sector with other countries.

d/ The assignment of the responsibility for, and phasing of, the performance of the major tasks are prescribed in the Appendix to this Plan.

III. IMPLEMENTATION SOLUTIONS

1. Information and communication

- To diversify methods of communication in the mass media and the grassroots information system in order to disseminate policies and laws; to educate so as to raise awareness and law observance sense of people of different strata, prioritizing communications activities targeting ship owners, ship masters, fishermen and fishing logistics service providers in coastal provinces;

- To increase education so as to raise awareness and law observance sense for ship owners, ship masters, fishing logistics service providers, and workers via vocational and professional training programs;

- To organize periodical professional training for local law enforcement forces, ship owners, ship masters, and fishing logistics service providers in costal provinces;

- To develop programs to disseminate the fisheries law to people of different strata, focusing on young people and fisheries workers in coastal areas; to carry out on a pilot basis a communications program on IUU fishing prevention and combat at general education and higher education institutions in coastal provinces and cities.

2. Science, technology and international cooperation

- To apply information technology, telecommunications and remote sensing in developing and administering the fisheries database and linking fishing vessel monitoring information among management agencies, fishing ports, border-guard stations and fishing vessels;

- To conduct periodical survey and assessment of fisheries resources reserves for use as a basis for sustainable fishing, apply advanced methods for fisheries resource assessment and regularly collect fisheries data so as to obtain the best scientific and practical grounds for planning and managing fishing capacity and structure of fishing fleets in different maritime zones;

- To conduct multilateral negotiations in order to join international and regional fisheries forums, including accessing to international fisheries agreements and becoming a member of international and regional fisheries management organizations;

- To hold dialogues with the EU Delegation in Vietnam and the European Commission on matters concerning the settlement of 9 recommendations of the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG-MARE), international organizations and other countries on improving the effectiveness of Vietnam’s fisheries management;

- To hold bilateral negotiations with regional countries for sending Vietnam’s fishing vessels to lawfully operate in foreign countries’ maritime zones and set up hotlines to handle incidents and events occurring at sea;

- To attract international resources to increase the capacity for, and improve the effectiveness of, IUU fishing prevention and combat in Vietnam.

3. Mechanisms and policies

- To enhance the mechanism for coordination between competent agencies and local administrations and communities in law propagation, dissemination and education; to detect and handle violations of the fisheries law in general and regulations on IUU fishing prevention and combat;

- To decentralize local administrations and delegate the power to manage, monitor and control IUU fishing to localities and communities; to define responsibilities of heads of local administrations for failure to control IUU fishing by fishing vessels in their localities;

- To define responsibilities of heads of administrations of the coastal provinces, especially those failing to effectively prevent and control illegal fishing in foreign countries’ maritime zones by fishing vessels of their localities;

- To make lists of, and strictly manage and publicly handle to the witness of local communities, ship owners, ship masters and fishermen committing illegal fishing and arrested by foreign countries;

- To mobilize the participation of the entire political system, ministries, sectors, localities, agencies, the business circle, social organizations and coastal communities in IUU fishing prevention and combat and sustainable development of fisheries resources;

- To attach importance to survey and collection of data and build fisheries databases so as to provide scientific and practical grounds for planning and managing the fishing capacity as well as structure of fishing fleets;

- To upgrade the fishing vessel monitoring system in order to provide updated and prompt information serving the patrol, inspection, control and monitoring of fishing activities in maritime zones and at fishing ports and wharves;

- To improve the law enforcement capacity of the competent forces in maritime zones and at fishing ports and wharves; to improve law observance by ship owners, fishermen and fishing logistics service providers in order to prevent, minimize and eliminate IUU fishing;

- To upgrade infrastructure of fishing ports and improve the capacity for certifying unloaded catches and controlling activities of fishing vessels at ports;

- To support and guide fishermen to conduct fishing in foreign countries’ maritime zones in a lawful and responsible manner;

- To adopt mechanism to encourage and support fishermen to apply selective and environment-friendly fishing practices and shift to other careers so as to lessen the pressure on fisheries resources and aquatic environment.

4. Finance

- Funds for implementation of this national action plan come from the state budget, investment capital of enterprises, the private sector and communities, foreign capital and other sources;

- State budget funds for implementation of this action plan shall be included in annual detailed budget expenditure estimates of ministries, agencies, organizations and localities in accordance with the Law on the State Budget and guiding documents and integrated into five-year and annual socio-economic development plans, medium-term and annual public investment plans in accordance with the Law on Public Investment and guiding documents; and also integrated into national target programs and other relevant programs and projects;

- The State shall create a legal ground and adopt mechanisms and policies to mobilize social resources, especially investment capital from the private sector, to implement this national action plan and action plans of ministries, sectors and administrations at all levels in order to increase capacity and effectiveness of implementation of law on IUU fishing prevention and combat.

IV. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

The organization of implementation, assignment of responsibility and phasing of implementation of major tasks are prescribed in Appendix I to this Plan.

The list of priority tasks up to 2025 is provided in Appendix II to this Plan.-

Prime Minister
NGUYEN XUAN PHUC

* The appendices to this Decision are not translated.