China News Service, April 21, according to the website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs recently issued the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Safety Management of Ocean Fisheries" (hereinafter referred to as "Notice"). The "Notice" pointed out that the safe buffer distance between the high sea fishing vessel operating area and the 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone of the coastal country was adjusted from 3 nautical miles to 1 nautical mile, and crossing the line into the buffer zone is strictly prohibited.
Data map: Fishery wharf. China News Service issued Wang Chun photo source: Cnsphoto
"Notice" pointed out that the local fishery authorities should attach great importance to the safety management of ocean-going fisheries, urge and guide the ocean-going fishery enterprises under their jurisdiction to effectively implement the main responsibilities, strengthen the construction of enterprise safety production systems, and strengthen the safety of ocean-going fishing vessels. Especially during the epidemic period, on the basis of comprehensively grasping the prevention and control of the epidemic situation and resuming production and resuming production, we must unremittingly do a good job in the management of ocean fishery safety, strengthen the safety education and training of the person in charge of the enterprise and the captain, and strictly engage in ocean fishery production in accordance with the law.
According to the "Notice", in order to prevent and reduce illegal cross-border fishing, protect the legal interests of our ocean-going fishing vessels, and combine the characteristics of ocean-going fishing vessels' production operations, the safe buffer distance between the high-sea fishing vessel operating area and the 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone of the coastal country is adjusted from 3 nautical miles 1 nautical mile.
It is strictly forbidden to cross the line to enter the buffer zone for fishing. Once entering the strict handling of violations, the hidden dangers will be strangled in the seedling and budding stage, so that early detection, early warning and early response can be achieved. The safe buffer distance, as an early warning measure for fishery management, does not affect our country ’s principled stand regarding the law of the sea.
The "Notice" requires that all ocean-going fishery enterprises must strictly abide by the relevant regulations of the ocean and fisheries management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, effectively strengthen the control of their fishing vessels, maintain close contact with fishing vessels, and arrange for dedicated personnel to monitor the movement of fishing vessels in real time 24 hours a day. In accordance with the requirements of the newly revised “Monitoring and Management Measures for Offshore Fishing Vessel Positions” issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, ensure that the position monitoring equipment is turned on 24 hours a day and normally reported to ensure that the captains of their fishing vessels operate in strict accordance with laws and regulations to ensure that no violations such as cross-border fishing occur.
The local fishery authorities and the China Ocean Fisheries Association should continue to strengthen the monitoring of the position of ocean-going fishing vessels, further improve the position early warning system, ensure the real-time reporting of early warning information, pay close attention to the position of fishing vessels operating in key sea areas such as the Southwest Atlantic High Seas, and promptly report anomalies and deal with them in a timely manner.
The "Notice" emphasizes that when ocean-going fishing vessels are navigating in the exclusive economic zone of other countries, they shall abide by the provisions of the coastal states and international traffic rules, cover or properly store fishing gear, and shall not engage in illegal fishing activities and avoid going to disputed sea areas in the relevant countries. When passing through high-risk areas such as frequent occurrence of pirates, it is necessary to make emergency plans and strengthen security measures.
The "Notice" mentions that when the law enforcement ships of other countries request boarding inspections, they should stop the ship to cooperate with the inspections, make anti-epidemic measures during the epidemic situation, and report to the fishery authorities in a timely manner. It is forbidden to evade law enforcement inspections or resist law enforcement inspections by violence or dangerous means. In case of improper conduct such as excessive law enforcement or violent law enforcement by the other party, the evidence shall be obtained in an appropriate manner and reported to the fishery authority, so as to strive for proper handling through diplomatic or judicial channels. In case of foreign-related incidents caused by illegal operations, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will severely punish them in accordance with relevant regulations.