BÌNH ĐỊNH — Bình Định Province is having a crackdown on 'Three-NO' vessels to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Three-NO vessels are boats between six to 12m in length that operate with no licenses, no registration and without permissions.

According to Bình Định's Border Guard, there are currently around 5,300 fishing vessels in the province, of which approximately 1,000 fall into the Three-NO category.

As Three-NO boats do not enter fishing ports or border control stations, their activities pose significant challenges to fishery supervision.

Nguyễn Văn, Deputy Director of the Fishing Port Management Board of Bình Định, revealed that his management board had attempted to educate Three-NO vessel owners about complying with regulations but to no avail. Their words fell on deaf ears.

"We have reported this to higher authorities and called for tough measures to deal with these vessels," said Văn.

Nguyễn Hữu Nghĩa, Director of the Fishery Department of Bình Định, said his department had inspected all unregistered and unlicensed vessels in the province and was taking action to register and license them by mid-May.

Nguyễn Văn Lĩnh, Commander of Bình Định's Border Guard, said the province will take a strong stance against Three-NO vessels to prevent IUU (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated) fishing in 2024.

Meantime, the border guards are launching a big communication push to get fishermen to comply with regulations and encourage them to switch from wild fishing to aquaculture. — VNS