Ba Ria-Vung Tau: The numbers of vessels and fishermen in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau infringing upon foreign waters have decreased remarkably over the past five years thanks to its efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, according to a report released by the provincial People's Committee. At a conference held by the provincial Party Committee on March 26 to review the five-year implementation of its standing board's resolution on several measures to prevent and stopping fishing vessels and fishermen from conducting illegal fishing on foreign waters, Vice Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Nguyen Cong Vinh affirmed that the state of fishing boats encroaching foreign waters has been basically addressed. To strengthen the fight against IUU fishing, the provincial People's Committee has signed coordination regulations with the Naval Region 2 High Command, the Coast Guard Region 3 High Command and the Coast Guard Region 4 High Command in managing activities re lated to the fishery sector, said Vinh. As of October 25, 2023, 96.56% of the fishing boats with a length of 15m or more had been installed with the vessel monitoring system (VMS). Permanent Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Thi Yen requested the provincial People's Committee to assign specific tasks to each department, agency and unit to take measures to combat IUU fishing, strengthen coordination in this work, and closely monitor boats going in/from fishing ports. Meanwhile, in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre, the Ham Luong border guard station has intensified the dissemination of information about related laws in diverse forms, targeting vessel owners, captains and fishermen. The border guard station has also hung banners showing 14 illegal fishing acts for fishermen to avoid./. Source: Vietnam News Agency