Quang Tri records no boats violating foreign waters

The positive outcome is attributable to the province focusing efforts on installing and managing vessel monitoring system (VMS) devices for the local fleet.

To date, out of the total 188 fishing vessels with the length of over 15 metres in the province, 186 have been equipped with VMS devices while the remaining two vessels are without VMS as they are not in use.

Through the VMS, the provincial authorities effectively manage and supervise fishing vessels that operate at sea. They keep a list of vessels that operate beyond the permitted sea boundary or those that lose connection while operating at sea, which will be informed to localities and border guard stations for handling.

The authorities have closely coordinated in handling violations such as exceeding the permitted sea boundary, turning off, not turning on and not maintaining the operation of VMS equipment.

According to the provincial’s fisheries sub-department, it is facing several difficulties in maintaining round-the-clock monitoring of fishing vessels operating at sea and verify information about local fishing vessels in national system, one of which is the lack of staff.

Besides, satellite connection for VMS equipment is often disrupted and reparation is time consuming, causing difficulties in managing fishing vessels operating at sea.

To resolve the problem, the Quang Tri provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has proposed to the Directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to strictly inspect the quality of VMS equipment. Device suppliers should install warning devices on boats to alert captains when VMS devices do not work or connection is disrupted.

Providers of VMS satellite service are urged to promptly and thoroughly fix the problem of connection disruption to facilitate the management work against IUU fishing.