Cà Mau province is installing black box devices for monitoring trips on fish vessels longer than 15 metres to provide information on permitted fishing areas, support search and rescue efforts, and trace the origin of caught fish.
As part of a pilot project, the province installed black boxes on 30 fish vessels in U Minh District’s Khánh Hội Commune and Trần Văn Thời District’s Sông Đốc Town. Under the decision by the province’s People’s Committee, around 1,500 vessels will receive a black box by the end of this year.
Nguyễn Việt Triều, deputy head of the province’s Fisheries Sub-department, said the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in co-operation with border posts and black-box suppliers will provide information to ship owners, mostly in large river mouth areas such as in Sông Đốc Town, Khánh Hội Commune and Phú Tân District’s Cái Đôi Vàm Town. “Fishing ship owners will receive information about the Fisheries Law 2017 and other legal documents about the compulsory installment,” he said.
Ship owners will be punished if they do not install the black boxes, or operate and maintain them. Those ships that do not install the boxes will be prevented from going on fishing trips, according to the People’s Committee. Fish vessels that do not operate their black boxes around the clock during trips will receive administrative penalties.
VFM
