The Provincial People's Committee held a meeting to discuss solutions to manage fishing vessels that do not meet the conditions to operate in the fight against IUU fishing.

(gialai.gov.vn) – On the afternoon of November 2, the Provincial People's Committee held a meeting to listen to reports on the management of fishing vessels that are not qualified to operate and are anchored outside the province, serving the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Comrades: Pham Anh Tuan - Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Nguyen Tuan Thanh - Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Duong Mah Tiep - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee co-chaired the meeting.

Attending the meeting were representatives of leaders of the departments: Agriculture and Environment, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Provincial Police, Provincial Border Guard Command; representatives of leaders of coastal communes and wards; leaders of fishing port management boards in the province.

Meeting scene

According to the report of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, as of November 1, 2025, the whole province had 5,761 registered fishing vessels (down 11 vessels compared to the previous week), of which 100% of fishing vessels had been updated to the VNFishbase system; at the same time, 100% of fishing vessels participating in fishing activities (5,442 vessels) had been granted fishing licenses.

Through review, there are currently 327 fishing vessels in the province that do not meet the conditions for participating in fishing. Of these, 08 fishing vessels are unregistered; 35 vessels are on the missing notice list awaiting deregistration; 284 fishing vessels have expired inspection and fishing licenses.

Regarding the management of fishing vessels that do not meet operating conditions, through reviewing reports from localities, 11 vessels have sunk or been damaged. The departments have coordinated with local authorities to work with each vessel owner; however, to date, the vessel owners have not agreed to sign the application to deregister the fishing vessel according to regulations. There are 35 vessels that have been reported missing, waiting to be deregistered according to regulations. For 08 unregistered fishing vessels (3 no vessels), of which 07 are anchored in the province, 01 is anchored in Phu Quoc, An Giang . There are 10 fishing vessels whose fishing licenses have just expired (localities have not worked, the location and coordinates have not been determined, and there are no images). For fishing vessels anchored at ports in the province, there are 192 vessels, of which 169 have images, 23 have no images. For fishing boats anchored at ports outside the province, there are 71 boats, of which 67 boats have images, the remaining 04 boats do not have images.

Discussing at the meeting, representatives of departments, branches and localities reported in detail on the management of fishing vessels that do not meet operating conditions, and analyzed the difficulties in the implementation process. Opinions also focused on proposing solutions to enhance management efficiency, better serve the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, contributing to strictly implementing the direction of the Government and the province in preventing and eventually ending IUU fishing.

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Pham Anh Tuan delivered a concluding speech

Concluding the meeting, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Pham Anh Tuan emphasized that the top goal is to ensure strict implementation of the European Commission's (EC) requirements on combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, in order to soon remove the EC's "yellow card" on Vietnamese seafood, creating conditions for the Gia Lai province's seafood industry to develop stably and sustainably.

Regarding the key tasks, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested departments, branches and localities to focus on strengthening the management of fishing fleets, especially those that do not meet operating conditions; step up inspection and supervision of fishing vessel journeys at sea, and ensure strict compliance with regulations on fishing areas. Coastal communes and wards need to tighten local management, proactively guide fishermen to comply with regulations in fishing, prevent and stop illegal fishing early and from afar; and strictly handle cases of intentional violations.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee suggested that from now until the European Commission (EC) visits Vietnam for inspection, localities must focus on combating IUU fishing, synchronously mobilizing police, military, and border forces to participate, and take responsibility for strictly managing assigned areas.

The Department of Agriculture and Environment is assigned to preside over and coordinate the fight against IUU fishing; promptly deploy the electronic fishing log declaration; and promptly complete the Project on sustainable fisheries development in Gia Lai province.

Source: https://gialai.gov.vn/tin-tuc/hoat-dong-cua-lanh-dao/ubnd-tinh-hop-ban-giai-phap-quan-ly-cac-tau-ca-khong-du-dieu-kien-hoat-dong-phuc-vu-chong-khai-thac-iuu.html