Nghe An urgently deploys actions in the peak month against IUU fishing

Implementing the direction of the Secretariat, the Prime Minister and Official Dispatch No. 198/CD-TTg dated October 17, 2025, the Provincial Party Committee and People's Committee of Nghe An province have promptly deployed directive documents and issued an Action Plan for the peak month against IUU fishing, creating a comprehensive and unified campaign from the provincial to grassroots levels.

Specifically, the Provincial Party Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 71-CV/TU dated October 20, 2025; the Provincial People's Committee issued Directive No. 11460/UBND-NN dated October 24, 2025 and Plan No. 902/KH-UBND dated October 27, 2025, mobilizing the entire political system to participate.

Nghe An requires that vessels with a length of 15 meters or more must install and maintain VMS equipment connection according to regulations. (Photo: Bui Anh)

The Provincial Party Committee and People's Committee of Nghe An province also requested the Departments, branches and localities to focus resources to resolutely and seriously implement measures to combat IUU fishing, ensuring completion time and specific products according to the direction of the Secretariat, the Government and the Prime Minister ; handle according to the direction in Directive No. 32-CT/TW, dated April 10, 2024 of the Secretariat and legal regulations for any Party committees, local authorities, units and individuals who do not seriously perform assigned tasks and do not make progress in combating IUU fishing.

It is known that in Nghe An, according to statistics, the whole province has 2,635 registered fishing vessels, reaching 100% and fully updated to the Vnfishbase database system. Through inspection, 100% of fishing vessels eligible for operation are marked and registered according to the regulations in Circular No. 23/2018/TT-BNNPTNT. The whole province has sanctioned 164 cases of administrative violations in the field of fisheries, with a total fine of up to 3,244.3 million VND.

Currently, Nghe An province has 2,635 fishing vessels registered and fully updated on the Vnfishbase database system.

Notably, 73 cases were fined for losing connection to the vehicle monitoring system (VMS) during operations at sea, with fines of up to VND 2,740 million. At the same time, the right to use the captain's certificate was revoked for 02 captains who lost connection to the VMS, and the right to use the captain's certificate was revoked for 01 captain for the act of crossing the permitted fishing area at sea according to regulations.

Along with the punishment, Nghe An also promotes propaganda and raises awareness among fishermen about legal regulations in aquatic exploitation. Communication campaigns are regularly deployed at fishing ports and wharves, through loudspeaker systems, leaflets, as well as training sessions and direct dialogues between authorities and fishermen.

In addition, the province is also focusing on implementing solutions such as: perfecting the system of controlling fishing vessels entering and leaving ports, confirming the origin of aquatic products at designated fishing ports; strengthening inter-sectoral coordination in patrolling and inspecting at sea; regularly updating the list of fishing vessels that are not qualified to operate, assigning specific responsibilities to local authorities and functional forces to implement control measures, ensuring that unqualified fishing vessels are not allowed to participate in activities; coordinating with the Provincial Police to clearly identify the owners of fishing vessels that have had their registrations removed due to missing notices, exports, sales, donations, etc.

Notably, the Communication Program for a Sustainable Fishery organized by the Department of Agriculture and Environment in coordination with the Provincial Border Guard Command in Quynh Phu commune and Quynh Mai ward in the first days of November, aimed at propagating and mobilizing fishermen, especially ship owners, captains and fishermen in coastal communes to raise awareness, strictly comply with regulations on fishing and exploiting seafood at sea, not violating foreign waters, contributing to removing the "yellow card" of the European Commission, firmly protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland.

Scenes in the Program to raise awareness of combating IUU fishing among fishermen. (Photo: chicucthuysannghean.gov.vn)

Through the Drama Program, the Organizing Committee has integrated Propaganda and mobilization for fishermen, ship owners and captains to strictly comply with the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's laws and legal documents, focusing on the 2017 Fisheries Law; Decree No. 26/2019/ND-CP dated March 8, 2019 of the Government detailing a number of articles and measures to implement the 2017 Fisheries Law and documents on combating IUU fishing.

In addition, propaganda and mobilization are also needed for owners of seafood exploitation, production and trading establishments, vehicle owners and captains to commit to exploiting, producing and trading aquatic resources and seafood in accordance with the provisions of law; going offshore but not violating foreign waters; exploiting seafood sustainably while protecting aquatic resources; when operating at sea, going in groups to support each other when necessary and not approaching foreign entities that are illegally controlling and occupying the waters of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos and overlapping sea areas that have not been delimited.

At the same time, keep in touch with the authorities for support when necessary; Instruct ship owners and captains to use the function of declaring exit and entry procedures through Border Control stations based on the national population database. Condemn and criticize the use of banned substances in seafood exploitation, illegal fishing, fishing ground disputes, especially violations of IUU regulations...

The Organizing Committee of the Communication Program for a Sustainable Fisheries presented a total of 2,000 national flags and distributed 2,000 leaflets on legal propaganda to ship owners, captains and fishermen participating in the propaganda session, thereby contributing to raising awareness of law compliance and patriotism among the fishing community in the province. (Photo: chicucthuysannghean.gov.vn)

The propaganda program also introduced the task of combating IUU fishing in Nghe An province, clearly analyzed the limitations, causes and solutions for implementation, and orientations for the coming time. At the same time, emphasized the action message "removing the yellow card - not only the responsibility of the state, but also the honor of Vietnamese fishermen" Nghe An is determined to act for a sustainable fisheries industry.

With drastic and synchronous measures and the active participation of all levels, sectors and fishermen, Nghe An is clearly demonstrating its determination to put seafood exploitation activities into order, legality, responsibility and sustainability, towards the goal of removing the IUU "yellow card" with the whole country as soon as possible at the request of the European Commission.

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/nghe-an-cap-toc-trien-khai-hanh-dong-thang-cao-diem-chong-khai-thac-iuu-217456.html