The 17th meeting of the National Steering Committee on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing

At the Hung Yen province’s bridge point, the meeting drew the attendance of Comrade Lai Van Hoan, Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Head of the Provincial Steering Committee on IUU; leaders of relevant departments, branches and localities.

Comrade Lai Van Hoan, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, and leaders of the provincial departments and branches attend the meeting at the provincial bridge point.

According to the report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, in the past week (from October 7 to 14), ministries, sectors and coastal localities have synchronously deployed measures, achieving positive results in the fight against IUU fishing. The number of unlicensed fishing vessels has decreased sharply; the number of unqualified vessels has decreased significantly; many fishing ports have been recognized as qualified to confirm the origin of exploited aquatic products.

In Hung Yen province, up to now, 129/129 fishing vessels have installed voyage management system (VMS), reaching 100%, there are no vessels without the VMS. From the beginning of the year to October 13, 2025, the authorities have not detected any cases of fishing vessels or fishermen violating foreign waters, there have been no cases of arrest, administrative or criminal handling.

The Department of Agriculture and Environment has installed three Kiosk tablets for electronic traceability of aquatic products (eCDT VN) at Cua Lan and Tan Son fishing ports; about 80% of fishing vessel owners have declared their entry and exit on the eCDT VN electronic software. 100% of fishing vessels have fully updated information about the vessel owner, ID card, phone number, address and technical specifications as prescribed.

Implementing the Peak Plan until October 31, 2025, the Department of Agriculture and Environment and the Provincial Border Guard Command increased patrols and controls at sea. Specifically, the Department of Agriculture and Environment directed the Department of Sea and Fisheries to organize 4 trips/40 days at sea, detecting and handling 6 violations with a total fine of 67 million VND; the Border Guard directed Squadron 2 to organize 3 patrols, handling 5 violations with a total fine of 11.7 million VND.

Thanks to increased patrols, the number of fishing vessels violating fishing areas has decreased significantly. Since the beginning of the year, no fishing vessel has lost connection to VMS for more than 10 days or exceeded the permitted boundary; the rate of losing connection for more than 6 hours decreased by 217 cases compared to the same period in 2024 (October 2025: 58 cases; the same period in 2024: 275 cases). The number of IUU violations in the whole province decreased by 10 cases compared to the same period (35 cases compared to 45 cases in 2024).

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha requested ministries, branches and localities to seriously implement the Prime Minister's direction, especially in strictly handling violating fishing vessels. Ministries, branches, localities, functional forces, especially leaders, promote the highest sense of responsibility in "combating" on IUU fishing. To weekly review and assess the task progress and results; promptly update, classify and remove unqualified vessels.

The Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of National Defense to develop regulations for coordination with the fisheries control force to strictly manage the fishing activities of the fleet at sea; strengthen patrols and controls, and promote the core role in the peak period of controlling foreign fishing vessels that violate regulations. The Ministry of Public Security was assigned to guide and remove difficulties in handling administrative violations. The Ministry of Justice promptly completed legal documents on behavior, authority and fines for violations in the field of seafood exploitation. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment urgently issued temporary criteria stipulating conditions for ports to receive incoming and outgoing vessels. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, central and local press agencies and newspapers strengthened information and propaganda work, raising public awareness on preventing and combating IUU fishing, contributing to the goal of sustainable fisheries development. Localities need to proactively review and classify fishing ports and flexibly regulate operating areas in accordance with reality.