The seminar gathered lawmakers, ministry representatives and related bodies to discuss management of fisheries and the seafood industry and to scrunitise regulations that need to be amended.
While the law has helped boost fisheries production and encouraged the offshore fishing industry, there have been difficulties in putting it into practice. Efforts to restructure and re-organise production have gone slowly.
The accumulation of statistics and the evaluation on fish farming, marine fisheries, fishing grounds and freshwater lakes have also not been undertaken in accordance with the law in many areas.
The Government also needed to do more to support fishing vessels operating around distant islands and those fishing for State enterprises, said the deputy head of the ministry’s Department of Fisheries, Bui Duc Quy, urging revision of Article 12 of the Law on Fisheries governing offshore fishing.
While the current law regulates that fishermen must maintain a diary of their fishing operations, Quy also suggested changing the requirement to a periodic report due to the limited educational backgrounds of many operators.
Fixing the boundaries of territorial waters at sea was also an ongoing problem. A Government decree promulgated in October 2006 did little to help improve the situation, with the powers of inspectors and controllers and the awareness of fishing organisations and individuals remaining limited.
Participants in yesterday’s seminar also made suggestions to amend regulations on fishing boat registration, reclaiming water surface areas for fisheries, building and repairing fishing boats, and fisheries planning.
