The Prime Minister has demanded that fishing vessels that do not meet the required standards be resolutely prohibited from operating.

The meeting was held at the Government headquarters and streamed online to 21 coastal provinces and cities. Attendees included Tran Hong Ha, Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Deputy Prime Minister; leaders of ministries, central agencies; and leaders of coastal provinces and cities.

Comrades Le Hong Vinh - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; and Nguyen Van De - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, presided over the meeting at the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee's location.

Strictly control fishing vessels that do not meet the requirements.

Following the 20th session (November 4th), the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, along with other ministries, sectors, and localities, have continued to implement the tasks assigned by the Prime Minister to address the European Commission's "yellow card" warning.

As of November 8, 2025, 1,810 out of 79,734 fishing vessels nationwide did not meet the requirements for operation, accounting for 2.27%. These vessels have been listed and handed over to local authorities for management. They are only permitted to go to sea after completing registration, inspection, obtaining fishing licenses, and installing vessel tracking systems (VMS).

Regarding the handling of violations, 8 out of 22 localities have completely resolved outstanding cases related to VMS disconnection and exceeding fishing boundaries. Last week, the Ministry of Public Security announced the initiation of two more criminal cases involving two defendants related to IUU fishing in Gia Lai and An Giang; the cumulative total from 2024 to November 7, 2025 is 88 cases/132 defendants, of which 44 cases and 90 defendants have been brought to trial.

In Nghe An province, 9 out of 19 key tasks have been completed according to Directive 198 and the conclusions of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Specifically, 100% of eligible fishing vessels have been registered, inspected, and licensed; all fishing vessel data has been updated into VNFishbase and cross-referenced with the VneID database.

The province strictly controls 100% of unqualified vessels, forcing them to anchor at the port; at the same time, it marks and writes the license plates of fishing vessels according to regulations. Information technology infrastructure at the fishing port has also been upgraded to support fishermen in updating data. All vessels 15m or longer declare their departure and arrival at the port through the electronic traceability system (eCDT), and 100% of eligible vessels have been equipped with VMS devices.

Currently, Nghe An province is implementing 10 out of the remaining 19 tasks. Among these, the province is resolutely preventing fishing vessels from engaging in illegal fishing in foreign waters; prohibiting vessels from going out to sea and confiscating documents from vessels that do not meet the required conditions.

The process of identifying the owners of vessels whose registrations have been cancelled due to missing person reports, export, or donation is also being finalized. To date, information has been verified for 62 out of 64 vessels, with the remaining two vessels currently under investigation.

In addition, Nghe An province is drafting a Resolution to be submitted to the Provincial People's Council on policies for occupational retraining, decommissioning of fishing vessels, and support for fishermen to upgrade and replace VMS equipment.

The province has also announced the opening and operation of four Type II fishing ports funded by the budget: Quynh Phuong, Cua Hoi, Lach Quen, and Lach Van, with personnel deployed to control 100% of vessels departing from and arriving at the ports and to monitor unloaded catch. For privately owned fishing ports, two more Type III ports are expected to open before November 15th.

Border Guard, Agriculture, and Police forces are focusing on handling vessels that violate VMS connectivity regulations, striving to complete 100% of the process before November 15th.

XStrict penalties will be imposed on fishing vessels that violate regulations.

Concluding the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the efforts of ministries, sectors, and localities in implementing tasks, especially the positive changes compared to the previous week.

The Prime Minister requested that ministries, sectors, and localities continue to uphold a high sense of responsibility and take decisive action, while ensuring effective methods in preventing and combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, for the honor and prestige of the country.

The comrade paid particular attention to the preparation of reports for the European Commission (EC), requesting that the relevant agencies prepare thoroughly, ensuring consistency, uniformity, and a clear database.

The Prime Minister emphasized that, in order to have a good consolidated report, the weekly reports of each unit must first be of high quality, with specific and consistent data; the data needs to be standardized according to a common measurement system, standards, and regulations.

Regarding local authorities, the head of government requested that leaders of coastal provinces and cities with fishing vessels closely monitor the situation and focus on decisively, comprehensively, and effectively leading and directing measures to combat IUU fishing.

"Absolutely no violations or negative practices should be allowed to affect the overall efforts of the entire country; maintain strict control over all fishing vessels entering and leaving ports according to regulations; resolutely prevent unqualified or unregistered fishing vessels from participating in operations," Comrade Pham Minh Chinh emphasized.

The Prime Minister also requested that the 14 localities that have not yet completed the handling of administrative violations related to the simultaneous loss of VMS connectivity beyond the permitted boundaries must urgently complete this before November 16th and promptly complete the tasks currently underway as reported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment; and urgently and seriously update all data and strictly penalize violating fishing vessels.

The Prime Minister also requested that ministries, sectors, and localities continue to pay attention to the lives of fishermen, aiming for sustainable development in fisheries.