Combating IUU Fishing: Deputy PM Tran Hong Ha demands clear legal responsibilities in management
WVR - On the evening of January 6, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, Head of the National Steering Committee on combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, chaired the 29th session to review tasks assigned by the Prime Minister and the Steering Committee following the 28th session.
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At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phung Duc Tien reported that since the 28th session, the Ministry has completed a report on combating IUU fishing sent to the European Commission (EC). This report reflects the political commitments and strong efforts of the entire political system; ensures accurate, consistent, and verified data, avoiding superficiality and achievement chasing, and has fully incorporated feedback from ministries, sectors, localities, experts, and the Ambassador - Head of the Vietnamese Delegation to the European Union.
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| Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, Head of the National Steering Committee on combating IUU fishing, discusses at the meeting. (Source: VNA) |
Strict control of fishing vessels, completion of IUU Fishing Data
Regarding the draft Directive of the Prime Minister on focusing leadership and direction for comprehensive, effective measures against IUU fishing, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is incorporating directives from the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ha to review and update data on violating vessels, port arrivals and departures, control of exploited seafood materials, and traceability of fishing vessel activities. The Directive ensures decisive prevention and strict handling of IUU fishing violations; reorganizes production, enhances livelihood support for legal fishing, stabilizes fishermen's lives, and promotes sustainable, responsible, and internationally integrated fisheries.
Regarding the regulations on installing VMS (Vessel Monitoring System) equipment on fishing vessels, Deputy Minister Tien stated that the Ministry proposes installing a maximum of two VMS devices on one fishing vessel to prevent signal loss during offshore fishing activities; reduce damages for fishermen during production at sea; assist authorities in detecting violations; and amend regulations for strict management of VMS installation, removal, and replacement. Responsibilities of vessel owners, local management agencies, and equipment providers are also defined; management software will activate a secondary device if the primary loses signal.
For the management of logistics service vessels and seafood purchasing vessels at sea, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has requested localities to review and report detailed operational status and require logistics service vessels to strictly report port entries and exits, record and submit purchase and transshipment logs as per regulations, and prohibit purchasing seafood from vessels violating IUU fishing.
This week, no fishing vessels were reported detained by foreign authorities. However, 24 vessels that violated foreign waters have yet to be fully handled. Deputy Minister Tien proposed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinate with localities to provide information and resolve the cases thoroughly.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has collaborated with other ministries, sectors, localities, and relevant agencies to complete data systems such as licensing and registration on the National Fisheries Database Management System (Vnfishbase); electronic fishing logs (elogbook); seafood traceability system (eCDT); VMS; and administrative violation handling system in the fisheries sector.
The Ministry has issued user accounts for localities and authorities to check and compare data; promptly detect discrepancies, request updates, additions, corrections, and standardize data as per regulations.
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| Overview of the 29th session of the National Steering Committee on combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, evening of January 6. (Source: VNA) |
As of December 31, 2025, 11 out of 22 localities have issued policies for occupational transition in fisheries, including: Ninh Binh, Hung Yen, Nghe An, Quang Tri, Hue, Gia Lai, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, Ca Mau, An Giang, and Tay Ninh. Localities yet to issue such policies include: Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Dak Lak, Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Dong Thap, Vinh Long.
At the meeting, representatives from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), and Viettel Group stated that the software system for transitioning to electronic fishing logs and the National Fisheries Database (VnFishbase) is ready.
The fisheries database has been used as the primary data source for port entry-exit applications and traceability. However, to ensure data is “accurate, complete, clean, and live”, synchronization between central and local data is needed; localities are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of fishing vessel data. Transitioning to electronic fishing logs can be expedited with guidance from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and coordination from localities and businesses.
On this issue, the Deputy Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to issue a circular guiding the transition to electronic fishing logs by January 2026; initially allowing vessels to use both paper and electronic logs, with mandatory electronic log use after 45 days, or it will be considered non-compliance in fishing reporting.
Regarding unresolved fishing vessel cases, Lieutenant General Le Quang Dao, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, stated that the Ministry of Defense has coordinated with the Ministry of Public Security and provided specific guidance, urging local leaders to implement seriously. Last week, the Ministry of Defense received no reports from foreign authorities about Vietnamese fishing vessels violating foreign waters. Patrol vessels did not detect any "3 no" fishing vessels.
Through patrol and control activities, the Ministry of Defense urged localities to innovate communication and management methods for fishing vessels, especially those under 15m not licensed or equipped with VMS but still crossing boundaries. The digital technology application system for managing and controlling fishing vessels and fishermen, led by the Ministry of Defense (Border Guard, Coast Guard), has connected and shared data of 79,324 fishing vessel records with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. Last week, the border guard processed 19,255 fishing vessel entries and exits, an increase of 1,632 compared to the previous week; most vessels had complete documentation, with a few requiring additional data guidance.
Lieutenant General Le Quang Dao confirmed that the system has integrated digital management of fishing vessels, VMS monitoring, traceability, and penalties on a digital technology platform; providing a basis for reporting and working with the EC.
Clear legal responsibilities in management
Concluding the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister acknowledged the determined efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, relevant ministries, sectors, and coastal provinces and cities. Vietnam has completed and sent a detailed report on combating IUU fishing to the EC.
Agencies must continue to review and regularly update data, ensuring clear reflection of progress and new achievements, avoiding repetition of old data. In unclear cases, direct communication is necessary to accurately grasp new results, only updating progress and achievements to avoid internal misunderstandings. Reports must demonstrate specific changes, especially periods without fishing vessel violations of foreign waters, a point of particular interest to the EC.
Additionally, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment must fully update self-inspection and violation prevention results, including timely detection and prevention of vessels at risk of violations. Results of administrative reviews, handling of vessels violating abroad must be clearly presented.
Regarding the management of revoked or deregistered fishing vessels, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment must clarify: the current status of deregistered vessels, whether they still exist or have been dismantled, not stopping at registration cancellation. The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the need for clear legal responsibilities in management, avoiding a situation where management is optional, and no one is accountable for violations or inaccurate reports.
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| To date, Vietnam has completed and sent a detailed report on combating IUU fishing to the EC. (Source: Lam Dong Newspaper) |
Regarding the database and electronic fishing vessel control system, the Deputy Prime Minister praised the effective exploitation of the interconnected system. However, with the responsibility of guiding and operating the system, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment must promptly issue legal and technical guidance, ensuring accessibility for citizens, captains, crew members, and management agencies. Guidance should be simple, easily accessible, including via phone, applications, and instruction boards; specifying the timeline for transitioning to electronic fishing logs; controlling VMS equipment under strict principles without causing inconvenience to fishermen; and adjusting unreasonable regulations...
Regarding violation handling, the Deputy Prime Minister urged localities, especially An Giang and Ca Mau, to exercise their authority, quickly complete sanction dossiers; and commit to the Government and Prime Minister on the accuracy and legality of reviewed data. The Government Inspectorate should focus on random checks in some localities. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment should comprehensively compile inspection results from ministries, sectors, and localities for reporting at the next session.
The Deputy Prime Minister also urged seafood processing, export, and import businesses related to the European market to conduct self-declaration, self-review, and self-remediation. For traceability of exploited seafood, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the need for continued investigation, statistics, and strict comparison between border guard data, fishing ports, and electronic systems; changing statistical methods, moving towards post-inspection instead of pre-inspection.
The Deputy Prime Minister requested ministries, sectors, and localities to focus on implementing tasks, increasing substantive effectiveness to report to the Prime Minister in the coming week.
