Combat IUU Fishing: Highest determination to lift IUU 'yellow card'
WVR - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has urged the entire political system to act with the highest determination, decisively and effectively, to best prepare for the inspection by the European Commission (EC) delegation.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired the 32nd meeting of the National Steering Committee on combating IUU fishing on March 3. (Source: VGP) |
In the early days of the Lunar New Year of Binh Ngo 2026, the atmosphere at many ports across the country became particularly bustling. Thousands of high-capacity fishing vessels simultaneously set sail, carrying hopes for prosperous early-year catches and the determination to join the nation in lifting the "yellow card" for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Expectations from the "golden seasons"
Present at Nhat Le fishing port at dawn to prepare for the upcoming trip, Mr. Nguyen Van Toi, a fisherman from Dong Trach commune, Quang Tri province, eagerly shared that his family's first fishing trip of the year started smoothly with a bumper squid catch.
He stated that after deducting expenses, each crew member could earn between 15-20 million VND, boosting morale and motivation to continue fishing: “The weather after Tet has been favorable, so everyone is taking advantage of the early-year fishing trips to bring luck, hoping for a productive year and additional capital for production.”
These days, the Dong Hai fishing port area (Dong Hai ward, Khanh Hoa province) is also bustling with the sounds of engines and the buying and selling activities of fishermen and traders. Ships returning to port with tuna, squid, and mackerel are quickly unloaded, sorted, and loaded onto refrigerated trucks for distribution to the market. According to the fishermen, the post-Tet fishing trip is considered a lucky start, so they are eager to fish and quickly bring the seafood ashore for sale, while thoroughly preparing fuel, ice, and supplies for the next trip.
Setting sail early in the spring, ships flying the red flag with a yellow star carry hopes for a new fishing season and the determination to strictly adhere to IUU regulations.
Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, a fisherman in Van Don Special Zone, Quang Ninh province, affirmed that the determination to lift the "yellow card" has become a common goal among many local fishermen. When going out to sea, they have resolved not to violate IUU fishing regulations or encroach on foreign waters for short-term gains. The profit from each trip is important, but it cannot compare to the nation's image and the desire for sustainable fishing development.
Local efforts "in action"
The European Commission (EC) inspection team is expected to visit Vietnam in March for their fifth on-site inspection. This inspection is crucial as its results will determine whether the EC lifts the "yellow card" or escalates it to a "red card" warning for Vietnamese seafood. The EC team will conduct on-site inspections in Ho Chi Minh City and several coastal provinces like Quang Ninh, Quang Tri, Khanh Hoa, and An Giang.
Recently, in many provinces and cities with fishing activities, authorities have launched intensive inspections to ensure compliance with IUU regulations, determined to lift the EC's "yellow card" warning on Vietnamese seafood.
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| With the proactive and decisive involvement of the Party Committee, local authorities, and the united efforts of fishermen, the fight against IUU fishing in Ho Chi Minh City has seen positive results in recent months. (Source: VNA) |
According to Vice Chairman of An Giang People's Committee Ngo Cong Thuc, preparing for the EC inspection is an urgent and top priority task. An Giang is mobilizing maximum resources and implementing comprehensive solutions to address existing issues in combating IUU fishing. The focus is on five key areas recommended by the EC: legal framework, fleet management, monitoring and surveillance of fishing vessels, traceability of seafood, and law enforcement and violation handling.
All preparation of documents and data must be accurate, consistent, and completed by March 9. The goal is not only to pass the EC inspection to lift the "yellow card" but also to build a sustainable and responsible fishing industry. The province has also established 10 task forces to comprehensively inspect IUU-related activities in localities, especially tightening management to prevent "three no" fishing vessels from setting sail.
With a large fishing fleet, extensive fishing grounds, and proximity to the waters of neighboring countries, patrolling and controlling IUU fishing activities in Ho Chi Minh City remain challenging and complex. However, with the proactive and decisive involvement of the Party Committee, local authorities, and the united efforts of fishermen, the fight against IUU fishing in the city has seen positive results in recent months.
Notably, the dissemination of legal knowledge on combating IUU has been widely implemented with creative models such as Morning Coffee with Fishermen and Moot Court. As a result, fishermen's awareness and responsibility have significantly improved, contributing to effectively addressing IUU fishing at its root.
The Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Agriculture and Environment reported that by February 24, the city had registered over 4,400 fishing vessels, all updated on VNFishbase with synchronized owner information in the VNeID database. In monitoring sea activities, over 2,200 vessels longer than 15 meters have installed VMS (satellite monitoring systems). Notably, since the beginning of 2026, no fishing vessels have crossed boundaries or lost connection for more than 10 days.
Ensuring dual goals
On March 3, chairing the 32nd meeting of the National Steering Committee on combating IUU fishing, with the spirit of "not allowing the mistakes of an individual or a group to affect the collective efforts of the entire nation", Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized the dual goals: the highest aim is to develop a sustainable and long-term fishing industry (reducing risky offshore fishing and enhancing aquaculture, deep processing, creating jobs, livelihoods, and improving the material and spiritual life of the people) while lifting the IUU yellow card as per EU recommendations. This contributes to growth of 10% or more, for the rapid and sustainable development of the country, for the legitimate interests and happiness of the people, and for the honor and reputation of the nation.
The Prime Minister stressed the importance of listening with sincerity, sharing with heart, and acting with concrete results; working seriously, substantively, effectively, continuously, regularly, without formality, without coping, without superficiality, not following trends; with high determination, great effort, decisive action, saying what is done, committed to implementation, not saying no, not saying difficult, not saying yes without doing; "not allowing the mistakes of an individual or a group to affect the collective efforts of the entire nation".
Besides the positive results achieved, the Prime Minister noted that there are still existing issues that need to be thoroughly addressed within the week. The application of technology and data management in fishing activities must be implemented more integrally and consistently, ensuring the criteria of "accurate, sufficient, clean, live, unified, shared". The handling of the EC's five recommendations must continue to be clarified and specified in reports. The progress of occupational transition in some localities is still slow, with untimely reporting.
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| An Giang Border Guard collaborates with forces to inform fishing vessel owners about seafood exploitation regulations in Vietnam and regional countries. (Source: People's Deputies Newspaper) |
Regarding the general tasks ahead, the Prime Minister called for better communication, advocacy, and education to raise awareness, obligations, and responsibilities, mobilizing serious, active, substantive, and effective participation from the public and businesses, for their own benefits.
Identifying sustainable fishing industry development and combating IUU as a central, urgent political task for party committees and authorities at all levels, coastal provinces, cities, communes, and wards. Thoroughly preparing programs, scenarios, and content for working with the EC inspection team; ensuring accurate, complete, and consistent documentation and data. Absolutely no violations related to EU recommendations should arise.
The Prime Minister urged ministries, agencies, and localities to continue implementing decisive, comprehensive, and effective assigned tasks, the Secretariat's Directive, the Government's Resolution, the Prime Minister's directives, most recently Directive No. 18/CD-TTg. The Prime Minister also assigned specific tasks to the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment, Foreign Affairs, Defense, Public Security, Science and Technology; People's Committees of coastal provinces and cities; VNPT, Viettel corporations...
"The entire political system should uphold the spirit of responsibility and the highest determination; act decisively, comprehensively, and effectively; best prepare for the EC inspection; not allow any individual or group's mistakes to affect the collective efforts of the entire nation in decisively lifting the EC 'yellow card' and developing a sustainable, responsible, and deeply integrated Vietnamese fishing industry," the Prime Minister urged.
