Ho Chi Minh City: Listening and accompanying fishermen in combating IUU fishing

Photo caption — Overview of the program "Morning coffee with fishermen" organized by Long Hai Commune People's Committee and Phuoc Tinh Border Guard Station.

The program was attended by Ms. Pham Thi Na, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City, along with representatives of departments, branches, localities and border guards. This is a regular activity organized to strengthen the connection between the government, functional agencies and the fishing community, contributing to the sustainable development of fisheries.

Speaking at the program, Mr. Pham Minh Tam, Vice Chairman of Long Hai Commune People's Committee, said that through this meeting, the government hopes to convey to fishermen the State's policies and guidelines on combating IUU fishing, and at the same time listen to their thoughts and aspirations to promptly resolve difficulties, helping fishermen feel secure in staying at sea and going out to sea for long periods of time.

According to Major Nguyen Manh Hung, Political Commissar of Phuoc Tinh Border Guard Station, in recent times, the border guards and local authorities have deployed various forms of propaganda, such as the programs "Breakfast with fishermen", "Morning coffee with fishermen", and regular broadcasts on commune loudspeakers about regulations against IUU fishing. However, fishing vessel violations still occur, and some vessel owners have not fully complied with regulations on documents and vessel monitoring equipment (VMS).

Major Hung emphasized: “Vehicle owners and captains need to continuously maintain voyage monitoring equipment, ensure complete procedures and documents before going to sea. At the same time, fishermen need to pay attention to safety factors, monitor the weather and regularly contact authorities for support when necessary. Fishermen should increase the use of internal information groups between fishermen and authorities, helping to promptly handle incidents at sea, minimizing risks during the process.

At the morning coffee session, many enthusiastic opinions were raised by fishermen. One of the outstanding issues was that the journey monitoring device that fishermen bought for tens of millions of dong was still operating, but according to the announcement of the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group, from November 7, 2025, VNPT temporarily stopped connecting and synchronizing journey monitoring data of customers using the VNPT-VSS service to the Fishing Vessel Monitoring Data Center of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance, which made many fishermen very worried.

Many fishermen also reported that old fishing boats were not inspected due to the replacement of used engines, causing dozens of boats to be grounded. In addition, the process of buying and selling boats between provinces and cities is still complicated, only handwritten documents can be done, and the ownership has not been officially transferred, causing many inconveniences for people.

Some fishermen said that the issuance of fishing licenses in the wrong areas and traditional occupations prevented them from going out to sea on the right fishing routes, greatly affecting their income. In addition, the fishing port system was seriously degraded and silted up, with many places being overloaded, making it difficult for ships to enter and exit.

Fishermen also complained that the regulation requiring fishing vessels to have a food safety certificate before going to sea is inappropriate, because they only catch raw seafood and do not process it. The delay in getting this certificate also causes many vessels to miss the opportunity to go to sea at the right time of the season.

Notably, the people also suggested the State to study the model of “fishing for 6 months, resting for 6 months”, which would help seafood have time to reproduce and create conditions for fishermen to rest and temporarily change their livelihood during the time off from sea. “If we are supported during the time off from fishing, we completely agree, because that not only helps stabilize our lives but also contributes to protecting long-term aquatic resources,” said fisherman Nguyen Van Nho.

Receiving and answering questions from the people, Ms. Pham Thi Na, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City, acknowledged the cooperative and frank spirit of the fishermen. The contents under the authority of the department were answered directly at the meeting, while recommendations beyond the authority will be compiled and submitted to higher levels for appropriate handling.

Ms. Pham Thi Na emphasized: “In the coming time, the Department will continue to coordinate with localities and border guards to promote propaganda and raise awareness among fishermen about combating IUU fishing. We hope that people will continue to accompany the government, for a sustainable development of the fishing industry, contributing to protecting the image and reputation of Vietnamese seafood in the international market.”

Long Hai Commune is the locality with the largest fishing fleet in Ho Chi Minh City. According to the report of Long Hai Commune People's Committee, the locality currently has 1,260 fishing vessels; of which 159 vessels are not qualified to go to sea due to many reasons: the vessel owner is missing, the vessel has been sold outside the province without changing the name, the vessel is anchored or lacks registration papers. The commune government has assigned hamlets to assign people responsible for monitoring each vessel, periodically updating the location and anchorage images for strict management.

The program “Morning Coffee with Fishermen” is not only an opportunity for management agencies and fishermen to have open dialogue, but also shows the government’s concern and support for the lives and livelihoods of fishermen. Through each meeting, difficulties and shortcomings are noted, policies are widely disseminated, contributing to creating positive changes in the awareness of the fishing community about combating IUU fishing.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/tp-ho-chi-minh-lang-nghe-va-dong-hanh-cung-ngu-dan-trong-chong-khai-thac-iuu-20251101132024534.htm