The 18th meeting of the National Steering Committee on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing

At the provincial bridge point, the meeting saw the presence of Mr. Nguyen Hung Nam, Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; leaders of relevant departments, branches, units and localities

Delegates attend the meeting at the Hung Yen provincial bridge point.

According to the report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, to date, the work of combating IUU fishing in coastal provinces and cities has made progress. The majority of people comply with the regulations against IUU fishing. The anti-IUU fishing indexes have clearly changed compared to before in preventing fishing vessels from illegally exploiting in foreign waters, controlling fishing vessel activities more strictly than before, and tracing the origin of aquatic products is becoming more and more systematic. The violations of VMS regulations and exceeding the permitted fishing boundaries at sea have gradually decreased. The law enforcement and handling of IUU fishing violations have made progress.

Following the direction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, Hung Yen province has synchronously deployed solutions to combat illegal fishing (IUU), preparing to work with the 5th Inspection Delegation of the European Commission (EC). Up to now, the province has consolidated the IUU steering committees at all levels, issued operating regulations, and developed a peak action plan until October 31, 2025. Fleet management has been carried out seriously, in which 734/734 fishing vessels have been licensed to operate and updated to the VnFishbase system; 100% of vessels in 15m or longer have installed voyage monitoring equipment (VMS) and have been granted food safety certificates. The province has also completed the handling of 38 "3 no" vessels and reviewed and deregistered 96 inactive vessels.

The monitoring and control of fishing vessels is carried out 24/24 hours. In the first 10 months of 2025, no vessel lost connection for more than 10 days or violated foreign waters, the number of lost connections for more than 6 hours has decreased sharply compared to the same period. Traceability work has been strengthened, in which more than 21,976 tons of aquatic products passed through the port, 80% of ship owners declared electronic import and export via eCDT VN software; 3 electronic kiosks have been installed at fishing ports. The Border Guard and Fisheries Surveillance forces have increased patrols and handled 11 violations with a total fine of more than VND 78 million; 100% of violation records have been fully updated on the management system.

Hung Yen province has not yet detected any fishing vessels or fishermen violating foreign waters. The situation of vessels losing connection for a long time has been controlled. Fishermen strictly comply with regulations on declaration, logbook and fishing reports.

Concluding the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed: The work of combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and removing the "yellow card" of the European Commission (EC) is a particularly important, urgent and long-term political task, demonstrating national responsibility to the international community, at the same time is a prerequisite to ensure the sustainable development of Vietnam's fisheries industry.

The Prime Minister requested relevant ministries, branches and localities to focus maximum time, human resources, means and resources, promote the spirit of combating all IUU violations, absolutely not letting “A bad apple spoils the whole barrel", affecting the national reputation and the lives of millions of honest fishermen. All levels and branches, especially coastal localities, must consider this a political responsibility and public ethics, carry it out with the highest determination, without favoritism, without avoidance, and without letting the situation of "hot above, cold below" happen.

Ministries and branches are assigned specific tasks with clear deadlines for completion, from reviewing and perfecting institutions; digitizing the management of fishing vessels and fishermen; deploying the electronic catch documentation and traceability system (eCDT), to connecting, interconnecting data, monitoring VMS, controlling fishing ports and import-export activities on the VNelD platform. The armed forces are required to coordinate in patrols and strictly control the border waters, resolutely prevent fishing vessels from violating foreign waters. Police and judicial agencies investigate, prosecute, and strictly try typical cases, set an example, deter, and strengthen the rule of law.

Along with that, the Prime Minister requested coastal localities to take direct responsibility to the Government, complete 100% of the registration, inspection, and marking of fishing vessels; manage and update population and fishing vessel data to the national system, synchronously deploy the eCDT system at fishing ports, ensure transparency, and traceability of the origin of exploited aquatic products. At the same time, develop policies to support fishermen in changing jobs, maintain connections with voyage monitoring systems (VMS), upgrade information technology infrastructure and fishing ports, open a new development path for the fisheries industry - a spearhead economic sector that is green, modern, sustainable, and deeply integrated internationally.