Safe, sustainable, and regulated fishing practices.
On August 1st, the Government held a meeting of the National Steering Committee on combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Comrade Tran Hong Ha - Deputy Prime Minister, Head of the National Steering Committee on IUU, presided over the meeting at the central location. At the Nghe An location, Comrade Nguyen Van De - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, presided.
After nearly eight years of combating IUU (Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated) fishing, Vietnam has completed its legal framework and developed a comprehensive set of documents to meet the country's practical needs and align with the recommendations of the European Commission (EC). Currently, more than 82,000 fishing vessels have been registered and their information updated in the national fisheries database for monitoring and inspection.
In the first six months of 2025, the number of fishing vessels violating vessel tracking system (VMS) connectivity for more than six hours without reporting their location decreased sharply compared to the same period in 2024. Preventing illegal fishing in foreign waters – one of the prerequisites for the EC to lift the yellow card warning – is also being addressed step by step.
Speaking at the conference, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van De stated that as of July 28, 2025, Nghe An province had more than 2,600 fishing vessels that were required to register, and 100% of them had been registered.
The total number of fishing vessels equipped with vessel tracking devices reached 99.23%. 100% of fishing vessels in Nghe An province have marked their vessels during registration, inspection, and licensing procedures for fishing activities as required. In addition, the functional forces of Nghe An province have also penalized many cases of fishing vessels losing VMS connection at sea and fishing in prohibited areas.
To ensure safe, sustainable, and regulated fisheries exploitation, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasized that in the coming period, ministries, sectors, and localities should launch a campaign to mobilize resources for propaganda; implement comprehensive solutions to prevent fishing vessels from illegally exploiting marine resources in foreign waters; focus on operating and effectively using the VMS system to monitor, detect, warn, and promptly notify fishing vessels that lose VMS connection or cross permitted fishing boundaries at sea; and effectively implement a traceability system for harvested seafood at all fishing ports.
