What is an offshore zone? What zones does the offshore zone include? What are the regulations on conversion of fishing license quotas in the offshore zone in Vietnam?
- What is an offshore zone? What zones does the offshore zone include? Which fishing vessels operate in the offshore zone in Vietnam?
- Which fishing vessels are allowed to operate in offshore zone in Vietnam?
- What are the regulations on conversion of fishing license quotas in the offshore zone in Vietnam?
What is an offshore zone? What zones does the offshore zone include? Which fishing vessels operate in the offshore zone in Vietnam?
Pursuant to point c, Clause 1, Article 42 of Decree 26/2019/ND-CP, amended by Clause 18 Article 1 of Decree 37/2024/ND-CP, the following regulations apply:
Zoning for fishing activities
The zones for fishing activities includes:
a) The coastal zone, limited by the sea edge along the coastline and the shoreline. For islands, the coastal zone is the sea area limited by the average annual high tide level around the coastline of the island up to 06 nautical miles.
b) The nearshore zone, limited by the shoreline and the nearshore line.
c) The offshore zone, limited by the nearshore line and the outer boundary determined in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982.
Furthermore, according to Clause 22, Article 3 of Decree 26/2019/ND-CP, supplemented by Clause 1, Article 1 of Decree 37/2024/ND-CP, the following explanations are provided:
Explanation of terms
22. The offshore zone consists of 06 zones as follows:
a) Zone 1 is the northern area above latitude 17°00'N.
b) Zone 2 is the area between latitude 14°00'N and latitude 17°00'N.
c) Zone 3 is the area between latitude 10°00'N and latitude 14°00'N.
d) Zone 4 is the southern area below latitude 10°00'N and east of longitude 108°00'E.
dd) Zone 5 is the southern area below latitude 10°00'N, between longitude 105°00'E and longitude 108°00'E.
e) Zone 6 is the western area west of longitude 105°00'E.
Therefore, the offshore zone consists of 6 zones limited by the nearshore line and the outer boundary determined in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982.
What is an offshore zone? What zones does the offshore zone include? What are the regulations on conversion of fishing license quotas in the offshore zone in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)
Which fishing vessels are allowed to operate in offshore zone in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Article 43 of Decree 26/2019/ND-CP, the management of activities of fishing vessels within Vietnam's waters is as follows:
Management of activities of fishing vessels within Vietnam's waters
1. Regarding aquatic resource catching vessels:
a) Vessels with a maximum length of at least 15 meters are allowed to carry out activities within offshore zones but not allowed to carry out activities within coastal and inshore zones;
b) Vessels with a maximum length of from 12 meters to less than 15 meters are allowed to carry out activities within inshore zones but not allowed to carry out activities within offshore and coastal zones;
c) Vessels with a maximum length of less than 12 meters that carry out activities within coastal zones are not allowed to carry out activities within inshore and offshore zones. These vessels are only allowed to carry out activities within the coastal zone of the province where they are registered, except for the cases where there is an agreement on activities of fishing vessels within the coastal zone of People's Committees of the two provinces.
2. Regarding aquatic resource fishing logistics vessels:
a) Vessels with a maximum length of at least 15 meters are allowed to carry out activities within coastal, inshore and offshore zones.
b) Vessels with a maximum length of from 12 meters to less than 15 meters are allowed to carry out activities within inshore and coastal zones but not allowed to carry out activities offshore zones;
c) Vessels with a maximum length of less than 12 meters are allowed to carry out activities within coastal zones but not allowed to carry out activities within the inshore and offshore zones.
3. Regulations on flag flying:
a) Vietnamese fishing vessels must fly the national flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as "the national flag") on top of the mizzenmast; for vessels without mizzenmast, the national flag shall be flown on top of the main mast;
b) Any Vietnamese organization or individual that charters a foreign fishing vessel shall fly Vietnamese flag as prescribed in Point a of this Clause.
Thus, the fishing vessels operating in the offshore zone include:
- Aquatic resource catching vessels with a maximum length of at least 15 meters;
- Aquatic resource fishing logistics vessels with a maximum length of at least 15 meters
What are the regulations on conversion of fishing license quotas in the offshore zone in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Article 43 of Decree 26/2019/ND-CP, supplemented by Clause 19, Article 1 of Decree 37/2024/ND-CP, the conversion of fishing license quotas in the offshore zone is regulated as follows:
- Organizations and individuals who have been granted fishing licenses in the offshore zone must ensure that the total number of fishing license quotas in the offshore zone assigned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development does not increase when transferring ownership of fishing vessels between provinces and centrally-run cities.
The conversion of license quotas between different fishing sectors within the total allocated license quotas, as determined by the provincial People's Committees, must be in line with the local fishery development direction, which only allows conversion to fishery sectors that are friendly to the fishery resources and comply with legal regulations.
- Organizations and individuals receiving ownership rights of fishing vessels must comply with the provisions on granting approval documents according to Article 62 of the Law on Fisheries 2017 and Article 57 of Decree 26/2019/ND-CP, and register their fishing vessels as required.
+ The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the province or centrally-run city with organizations or individuals transferring ownership of fishing vessels must notify the transfer of fishing license quotas in the offshore zone using Form 01A.KT Appendix IV issued with Decree 26/2019/ND-CP to the province or centrally-run city with organizations or individuals receiving the transfer of ownership rights of fishing vessels after granting approval documents according to regulations.
+ The fishing vessel registration agency shall carry out the procedures for canceling the registration of fishing vessels and registering fishing vessels according to regulations.
Decree 37/2024/ND-CP comes into force from May 19, 2024.
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