Combating IUU fishing: VASEP calls for resolute action in addressing IUU violations
WVR - Enterprises violating regulations against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing will be expelled from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
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| On December 12, 2025, VASEP issued a document on enhancing IUU fishing prevention and collaborating with the government to lift the EC's "yellow card" warning. (Source: VASEP) |
This information was shared by Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam, General Secretary of VASEP, during an online meeting on IUU fishing prevention on January 6, 2026.
Regarding violation handling, Mr. Nam stated that from VASEP's perspective, aside from internal measures, the organization has recently coordinated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to amend relevant legal documents.
According to him, upon detecting violations, VASEP's first action is to report to the authorities, followed by expelling the violator from VASEP and updating the information on their system.
It is noted that on December 12, 2025, VASEP issued a document on enhancing IUU fishing prevention and collaborating with the government to lift the EC's (European Commission) "yellow card" warning.
Accordingly, VASEP requires member enterprises to maintain and enhance IUU fishing prevention efforts in sourcing, processing, and exporting seafood to the EU (European Union) and other demanding markets.
VASEP demands enterprises focus on thoroughly verifying and authenticating information for each batch of raw materials purchased and each batch of finished products exported; they must not purchase, receive, process, or export any seafood materials confirmed to be involved in IUU violations.
Concerning IUU fishing prevention, a report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment at the aforementioned conference indicated that in the most recent week, no Vietnamese fishing vessels were detained by foreign authorities for violating foreign waters.
However, in the two years (2024 and 2025), 92 Vietnamese fishing vessels were confirmed to have violated regulations and were detained by foreign authorities. Of these, 62 vessels have been processed, accounting for 67.39%, including administrative penalties for 44 vessels, criminal proceedings for 13 vessels, and 5 vessels were determined not to have violated as they were detained in overlapping waters; the remaining cases are under processing.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, from 2024 to January 3, 2026, there were 20,409 vessels losing connection for over 6 hours, being at sea for more than 10 days, and crossing the allowed exploitation boundaries. Of these, 20,286 vessels have been processed, achieving 99.4% (including penalties for 4,205 vessels and closing files without penalties for 16,081 vessels).
"After reviewing the closed files, 123 fishing vessels are being re-verified for information to be processed according to regulations," the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment's report stated.
Previously, in October 2017, the EC officially issued a "yellow card" for Vietnam's exported seafood products to the EU.
