Prime Minister: Must 'declare war' on illegal seafood exploitation

Attending the meeting were comrade Tran Hong Ha - Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister and relevant ministries and branches.

The meeting was held directly at the Government Headquarters, online with 21 coastal provinces and cities. At the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee bridge, Comrade Nguyen Van De - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee chaired; also attended were leaders of relevant departments and branches.

Nghe An has 100% of fishing vessels registered.

Implementing the direction of the Secretariat, the Prime Minister, the National Steering Committee on combating IUU fishing, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, in recent times, Nghe An province has resolutely implemented many solutions and achieved positive changes.

As of October 4, the whole province had 2,635 fishing vessels subject to registration and up to now, 100% of fishing vessels have been granted registration; 1,401/1,419 fishing vessels are still valid for inspection, reaching a rate of 98.73%, while 18 vessels have expired because they are on shore and have no need to go into operation.

Number of licensed ships: 2,600/2,635 ships (98.67%); 35 ships have not been licensed because newly purchased ships are being converted, repaired or are on shore, not yet in need of exploitation. Number of ships with valid food safety certificates: 995/1,042 ships (95.49%); 47 newly purchased ships are being repaired or are on shore, not yet in need of exploitation.

The number of vessels that have installed voyage monitoring equipment is 1,029/1,042 (reaching 98.75%); 13 vessels have not yet installed it because they have just been purchased and are being repaired. For the group of fishing vessels that are not qualified for operation, the Provincial People's Committee has directed relevant departments, branches and localities to take measures to closely monitor and manage, firmly grasp the location of fishing vessels anchored, and not allow unqualified fishing vessels to participate in activities.

In particular, the province has synchronized fishing vessel data with the population database, assigned identification and owner phone numbers to 2,630/2,635 vessels, reaching 99.81%; the remaining 5 vessels are missing and the owners have not been contacted.

Law enforcement and handling of IUU fishing violations have been carried out more vigorously than before, especially punishing violations of disconnecting fishing vessel monitoring equipment according to regulations. The Provincial Border Guard is the assigned unit, the Department of Agriculture and Environment, and the People's Committees of localities have coordinated, thereby creating a clear change and achieving some positive results.

Since the beginning of 2025, 356 vessels have lost connection to VMS and 79 vessels have been verified and handled, of which 23 vessels have been fined VND 807.5 million. Currently, the forces are continuing to investigate, verify and handle the remaining fishing vessels that have lost connection to the journey monitoring device.

At the meeting, leaders of ministries, branches and localities reported on implementation results and discussed solutions to achieve the goal of removing the "yellow card", especially in the upcoming EC inspection, scheduled to take place next November.

Declaring war on illegal fishing

Concluding the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh acknowledged the efforts of ministries, branches and localities, but the results were still slow compared to the requirements and directions of the Prime Minister and the Steering Committee.

There are still more than 8,000 fishing vessels that have not been licensed and it is recommended that licensing be completed before October 15 for qualified vessels; 249 vessels have not yet installed voyage monitoring equipment.

In particular, the work of handling fishing vessels that lost VMS connection has not changed compared to last week. Therefore, localities must complete this task. The Ministry of Public Security coordinates with relevant agencies to quickly handle cases with criminal elements.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also requested ministries and sectors to connect, share information and data with each other. From there, the Ministry of National Defense directed Viettel Group to digitize data to control vehicles. Sectors and localities must compile statistics on violations, especially new violations; amend and supplement decrees on administrative sanctions; and develop sanctions against administrative violations strong enough to have deterrence.

Emphasizing the spirit of 6 clear, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested ministries, branches and localities to perform well the tasks of fleet management; monitoring and supervising activities; tracing origins; enforcing the law, handling violations to be completed before October 15; monitoring and reporting the results of implementation weekly at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday; and preparing reports to send to the EC before October 15.

In addition, the Ministry of National Defense will carry out tasks to prevent fishing vessels from violating foreign waters; strengthen inspection and control at sea; and "declare war" on illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing activities.

Resolutely not allowing fishing vessels that do not meet the requirements and do not have Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) to go to sea for exploitation; at the same time, focus on solving employment, livelihoods and appropriate support policies for fishermen; strengthen propaganda and mobilize people to comply with regulations in seafood exploitation.