Overcoming the IUU 'yellow card': Ca Mau prioritizes handling violations

In the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, Ca Mau province has been showing great determination to remove the "yellow card" from the European Commission (EC).

Ca Mau is the locality with the largest fleet in the country.

Ca Mau province has made positive changes in implementing IUU through communication. Since the beginning of the year, about 8,000 news, articles, reports, and text messages have been deployed; along with more than 1,200 fishermen signing a commitment not to violate the law, their awareness of complying with the law has been significantly raised.

Implementing the direction of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on strengthening the fight against IUU fishing, in recent times, Ca Mau has synchronously deployed many measures to strictly control the fleet, trace and strictly handle violations. At the same time, Ca Mau province has also well implemented the coordination regulations signed with coastal provinces and functional forces to manage and control fishing vessels operating outside the province and fishing vessels of other provinces operating in the province; established a channel to share and exchange information between relevant localities to promptly prevent and handle IUU fishing violations; regularly organize inspections of anti-IUU fishing work in key fishing localities.

Mr. Le Van Su, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ca Mau province, said that by October 30, 2025, the whole province had 5,230 fishing vessels in operation; of which, 1,942 vessels had the longest length of 15 meters or more - the group that must install a vessel monitoring system (VMS). Notably, 100% of the vessels subject to installation have completed the installation. All cases of signal loss are updated, traced and handled according to the digitalization process.

Three type II fishing ports (Song Doc, Rach Goc, Ganh Hao) and one type III port (Cai Doi Vam) are designated to serve the verification and certification of the origin of exploited aquatic products. The control of ships entering and leaving the port is 100% implemented, connecting data via interoperable software, helping to accurately control import and export activities, limiting errors and fraud.

At the same time, the dissemination of legal regulations on combating IUU fishing has been promoted and spread to every fisherman and ship owner. More than 8,200 news articles and text messages, 24 television reports, 5,000 leaflets, and 10,000 posters have been published. The grassroots radio system regularly broadcasts anti-IUU fishing content twice a day. Various forms of communication have contributed to raising awareness, helping fishermen understand their responsibilities and the consequences of violations.

Fisherman Bui Van Dung in Dat Mui commune, one of those who signed the commitment, shared: "Every time a boat goes out to sea, it must have complete documents. We must comply with the requirements of the authorities to join hands with the whole country to remove the yellow card. Only then can fishermen feel secure in their livelihood at sea."

Mr. Dang Quoc Thuy, owner of a fishing boat in Ganh Hao commune (Ca Mau province) said that fishermen are now very aware that exploiting aquatic resources in foreign waters is a violation of the law, negatively affecting the country's fisheries industry.

According to Mr. Dang Quoc Thuy, the authorities have stepped up propaganda, installed billboards, posters, and distributed legal leaflets to help fishing boat owners and fishermen at sea better understand the provisions of the law, thereby working together towards the goal of removing and issuing yellow card warnings for Vietnam's fisheries sector.

At fishing ports in Ca Mau province, authorities are on duty 24/7 to strictly control incoming and outgoing vessels, check crew lists and monitor VMS equipment before the vessels leave port. Vessels that have not fully updated their fishing data or have lost their VMS connection are required to fix the problem immediately.

The province prioritizes handling old violations and improving post-inspection in certifying the origin of aquatic products - an important requirement when exporting to the EU.

According to Mr. Le Van Su, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ca Mau province, Ca Mau has detected and handled more than 470 administrative violations in the field of fisheries with a total fine of more than 10 billion VND, including 43 cases of VMS disconnection. All cases are updated in the management software to ensure transparent monitoring.

The traceability of aquatic products is also implemented effectively. 100% of vessels of 15 m or more declare electronically on the eCDT system when leaving and arriving at ports. The records confirming (SC) and certifying (CC) the origin of aquatic products are all issued in accordance with regulations, without any errors that need to be explained; of which, 805 CC certificates have been issued with a total volume of more than 11,400 tons, of which exports to the EU account for more than 7,880 tons.

Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ca Mau province Le Van Su affirmed that Ca Mau province identifies the fight against IUU fishing as an important, long-term political task. In the coming time, Ca Mau province will continue to focus on reviewing, tracing, handling, and digitizing all fishing vessels that violate the law, high-risk fishing vessels, and fishing vessels that have not completed procedures for sale to other provinces, ensuring final tracing results; guiding and supporting license renewals and carrying out sales in accordance with regulations; completing the update of identification information for the remaining fishing vessels; fully and accurately updating fishing vessel information data into the National Fisheries Database (VNFishbase) and the national population database VneID; fully preparing documents, data, and evidence to work with the 5th EC Inspection Delegation...

Recently, at a working session with the Party Committee and the Provincial Border Guard Command to hear reports on the operational situation after the establishment of the Command Committee under the Provincial Military Command and coordination work in preventing and combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Ho Hai requested that IUU fishing violations absolutely not occur.

Secretary of the Ca Mau Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai requested that IUU fishing violations absolutely not be allowed to occur, especially in foreign waters, and at the same time coordinate with forces to resolutely remove the "yellow card" of the European Commission.

With the proactive spirit and the drastic participation of the entire political system, the consensus of fishermen and businesses, Ca Mau is gradually strengthening the trust of the EC, aiming to soon remove the "yellow card", helping fishermen stick with the profession, get rich from the profession and build the image of a modern, responsible and sustainable Vietnamese fishing industry.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/khac-phuc-the-vang-iuu-ca-mau-uu-tien-xu-ly-dut-diem-cac-truong-hop-vi-pham-20251102101007165.htm