Ben Tre: The coastal Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre is pushing its efforts in preventing and combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, preparing to work with the EC inspection team for the 5th time. Within the second quarter, the provincial People's Committee of Ben Tre is set to propose the provincial Party Committee issue an action programme to implement a new directive of the Party Central Committee on enhancing the Party's leadership in combating IUU fishing and on the sustainable development of the fisheries sector. In addition, Ben Tre is focusing on the strengthened management of fishing vessels, completing the registration work and issuing exploitation licences. In this regard, strict handling targets vessels without registration certificates and exploitation licences. The province is reinforcing the effectiveness of monitoring the operations of fishing vessels, promptly tackling those with risks of violating the waters of foreign countries. According to the provincial People 's Committee, Ben Tre currently has 2,769 registered fishing vessels, with the percentage of those obtaining exploitation licenses reaching 91.7%. So far this year, it has logged no fishing vessels apprehended by foreign countries. The EC inspection team is expected to visit Vietnam for work in May or June./. Source: Vietnam News Agency