Cà Mau equips all offshore fishing boats with monitoring device

Fishing boats in the southernmost province of Cà Mau. – VNA/VNS Photo Huỳnh Anh

CÀ MAU – The southernmost province of Cà Mau has completed the installation of black boxes to monitor fishing activities of all 1,529 off-shore fishing boats.

All boats, 15m long and above, are required to keep the monitoring device active during their fishing trips.

The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development sees the device as an important solution to manage the fishing boats directly and continuously.

It is also an important solution to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, the department says.

With the installation of the device, violations by fishing boats have reduced significantly, it adds.

Châu Công Bằng, deputy director of the department, said that to fight IUU fishing activities, the province has instructed its fishing ports to keep fishermen, boat owners and captains aware of relevant regulations and updates.

Fishing boats that return to ports after off-shore trips have to comply with rules related to declaring catch details, he added.

Nguyễn Quang Hùng, deputy head of the National Directorate of Fisheries, said Cà Mau has achieved positive results in fighting IUU fishing activities.

The province should further strengthen implementation of measures to prevent violations, he said.

With a coastline of 254km and three sides bordering sea, the province has large offshore fishing advantages and potential.

In total, it has about 5,000 fishing boats, most of them involved in near shore fishing.

The province has recorded a seafood catch of 77,000 tonnes so far this year, reaching 33.5 per cent of its annual target, according to the department. – VNS