Synchronizing solutions, determined to remove the IUU "yellow card"

At the 21st meeting of the National Steering Committee on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that strictly implementing the directions of the Government and the National Steering Committee on Combating IUU Fishing is a mandatory requirement.

	Prime Minister : Heads of ministries, branches and localities must take direct and full responsibility if fishing vessels violate IUU regulations.
	Resolutely not allowing unqualified or unregistered fishing vessels to participate in activities.

At the 21st meeting of the National Steering Committee on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that strictly implementing the directions of the Government and the National Steering Committee on Combating IUU Fishing is a mandatory requirement.

Since the beginning of 2025, the province has had no fishing vessels violating foreign waters. Photo: BA THI

This is an important solution to end IUU fishing, quickly remove the "yellow card" of the European Commission (EC), and at the same time protect national honor and reputation.

Many positive results

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment , over the past week, ministries, sectors and coastal localities across the country have synchronously deployed many measures, achieving positive results in the fight against IUU fishing.

Regarding fishing vessel registration and licensing, as of November 8, the total number of fishing vessels in localities was 79,734, of which 79,646 were registered and updated (accounting for 99.9%), the number of fishing vessels not eligible for registration was 88 (accounting for 0.1%). The number of fishing vessels licensed for fishing was 77,924 (accounting for 97.84%); 1,722/79,646 fishing vessels were not eligible for licensing or license renewal (accounting for 2.16%).

The province monitors all seafood output unloaded through the port. Photo: Ba Thi

For 1,810 unqualified vessels, the local authorities have made a list and assigned local authorities and functional forces to manage and monitor the anchorage location, ensuring that only when qualified can they participate in fishing activities. During the week, the electronic monitoring system detected 21,800 vessels that lost connection for 6 hours, lost connection for more than 10 days at sea, and exceeded the permitted fishing limit. 20,893 vessels have been handled, reaching 95.84%.

According to local reports, the number of fishing vessels that are not eligible for registration or fishing licenses has been classified and a list has been made, and local authorities and functional forces have been assigned to monitor and manage to ensure that they do not participate in fishing activities.

Currently, 8/22 localities including Hai Phong, Ninh Binh, Hue, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Dak Lak, Can Tho, Vinh Long have completed handling the remaining administrative violations of VMS connection loss and exceeding the permitted exploitation boundary; 14 localities have not completed the process.

In the province, last week the province focused on leading and directing local sectors to fight against IUU fishing and basically completed the assigned content.

Specifically, all fishing vessels going out to sea and entering ports have been strictly controlled according to regulations; the fleet has been reviewed, and the licensing of fishing vessels that meet the requirements has been completed; for vessels that do not meet the requirements for licensing, the province is strictly managing these vessels and not allowing them to operate according to the Government's direction; the list of fishing vessels at high risk of violating IUU fishing regulations has been updated weekly. 100% of fishing vessels have their numbers and markings correctly according to regulations...

Mr. Nguyen Van Buoi - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment said: From the beginning of 2025 until now, the province has had no fishing vessels crossing the border.

Control 100% of fishing vessels entering and leaving the port; monitor all seafood output unloaded through the port; collect 100% of fishing logs and transshipment purchase logs for vessels entering the port; all fishing locations in the logs are checked against the data monitoring the journey of fishing vessels, serving the work of controlling against IUU fishing. The province has no vessels violating foreign waters, all violations occurring before 2024 have been strictly handled.

“Currently, people grasp the legal regulations in fishing and strictly implement them to join hands to remove the IUU “yellow card”. Specifically, before going to sea, they prepare all kinds of documents to ensure eligibility to go to sea to fish, turn on the journey monitoring device, and update the fishing coordinates.

If previously the problem of lost connection was about 50-60%/month, from 2025 until now it has decreased significantly, only about 20-30%" - Mr. Buoi added.

Determined to remove the "yellow card"

At the 21st meeting of the National Steering Committee on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, which was broadcast live to 21 coastal provinces and cities, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assessed that the handling of violations of the law in IUU fishing continues to have positive changes. However, the Prime Minister pointed out that there are still shortcomings that need to be resolved next week.

To effectively prevent and handle violations, the Prime Minister requested ministries, sectors and coastal localities to identify the fight against IUU fishing as an important, urgent task of long-term significance for the sustainable development of the marine economy and the fisheries sector.

Fishermen prepare fishing gear to go out to sea. Photo: BA THI

Mr. Nguyen Quynh Thien - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee said: In the coming time, the province will continue to resolutely implement the solutions to combat IUU fishing that are being implemented in the province, maintain the achieved results, strive to complete the targets on fishing vessel inspection and issuance of fishing licenses. At the same time, overcome the shortcomings and limitations pointed out by the inspection teams of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and according to the requirements of the 4th EC Inspection Team.

Focus on implementing the peak month against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. In addition, monitor 100% of offshore fishing vessels in the province, especially high-risk vessels and vessels that regularly operate near maritime boundaries; resolutely handle fishing vessels that lose signal for more than 10 days while operating at sea. Resolutely handle 100% of fishing vessels that do not maintain connection with the journey monitoring device as prescribed and behaviors related to the monitoring device on fishing vessels...

The total number of registered fishing vessels in the province is 4,627. The province has monitored the entire offshore fleet operating at sea through the monitoring system. Vessels installed with VMS equipment are 2,235/2,254, reaching 99.16% (the remaining 19 vessels that are suspended from operation are all closely monitored).

Reiterating the spirit of high determination, drastic and methodical actions to remove the EC's "yellow card" by 2025, the Prime Minister proposed unifying the measurement coefficients, norms, and standards, and at the same time preparing accurate reports on the areas of interest to the EC, on the basis of unifying reports of provinces and cities.

It is necessary to concentrate on leadership and direction to resolutely implement the peak month against IUU fishing; immediately end illegal fishing at all costs; build responsible fishing with traceability for the sustainable development of Vietnam's seafood industry, for the honor of the country, and for the benefit of the people themselves.

The spirit is that the transformation is not only shown by numbers or reports but must lie in specific results and real changes in reality. The heads of ministries, branches and localities are directly and fully responsible to the Government and the Prime Minister if the situation of fishing vessels violating the law recurs, slowing down the progress of removing the IUU "yellow card".

LY

Source: https://baovinhlong.com.vn/kinh-te/202511/dong-bo-giai-phap-quyet-tam-go-the-vang-iuu-ea94b17/