4 Vietnamese fishers jailed over illegal exits, IUU fishing

A court in Vietnam sentenced four fishermen to one to eight years in prison for arranging for others to illegally leave the country to engage in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities in Malaysian waters. All the four fishermen were found guilty of ‘organizing illegal exits for others in relation to committing illegal fishing in foreign waters,' the court said. This was a typical hearing for seamen who committed IUU fishing violations given the efforts Vietnam has been making for the removal of the IUU fishing ‘yellow card’ warning that has been imposed by the European Commission (EC) on Vietnamese seafood since 2017, according to the Kien Giang administration. About a week later, Dung and his seamen continued using the pair of fishing boats for illegal fishing in Malaysian waters and were detected by Malaysia's naval forces. Duong Tan Tai, a local fishing boat owner, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that this trial has contributed to raising awareness among fishing boat owners about legal fishing and avoiding IUU fishing activities.