Prime Minister calls for 'declaration of war' on illegal seafood exploitation

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, comrades: Le Hong Vinh - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Nguyen Van De - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee co-chaired.

EC will inspect for the 5th time in October 2025

In 2017, the European Commission (EC) issued a “yellow card” to Vietnamese seafood for violating regulations against IUU fishing. Over the past 8 years, Vietnam has made many efforts to overcome the problem, and the EC has sent inspection teams 4 times.

However, due to the IUU fishing situation, the "yellow card" warning has not been removed, seriously affecting seafood exports, causing negative impacts on the economy and national reputation.

Next October, the EC will conduct its fifth inspection in Vietnam. This is considered the final and decisive inspection: either removing the “yellow card” or raising it to a “red card”.

Previously, at the 14th Session on September 23, the Prime Minister decided to directly chair the IUU Steering Committee meeting every Tuesday to closely direct, with the goal of removing the "yellow card" in 2025.

In Nghe An, as of September 29, 2025, the whole province had 2,633 fishing vessels, of which 2,599 were licensed, reaching a rate of 98.71%. The remaining 34 vessels were not licensed because they were on shore and had no need to exploit.

The province has focused on directing the registration, inspection, installation of voyage monitoring equipment, and issuance of food safety licenses to groups of ships according to regulations. For ships that do not meet the operating conditions, the Provincial People's Committee has directed departments, branches, and localities to closely monitor and manage, firmly grasp the anchorage location, and resolutely not let them participate in exploitation.

In particular, Nghe An has synchronized fishing vessel data with the population database, assigned identification and owner phone numbers to 2,628/2,633 vessels (reaching 99.81%), creating an important foundation for transparent management. The remaining 5 vessels have not yet identified their owners due to recent name changes, ownership changes or disappearance.

In law enforcement, the province has stepped up strict handling of violations, especially the act of disconnecting journey monitoring devices. The Border Guard is assigned to preside over and coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Environment and the People's Committees of localities.

Thanks to that, there has been a clear change. Since the beginning of 2025, 77 ships have been verified and handled, of which 21 ships have been fined with a total amount of 755 million VND.

Raising administrative penalties for violations in the fisheries sector

Concluding the meeting, given the urgency of removing the EC “yellow card”, an issue directly related to the national honor, reputation and sustainable development of the fisheries industry, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized the need to officially “declare war” on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

This means that any violation or non-compliance will be strictly handled according to regulations, from administrative sanctions to legal prosecution depending on the level. At the same time, any locality, ministry or branch that does not implement well will also be considered and handled according to Party regulations and State laws.

The Prime Minister requested localities to strictly manage fishing vessels and fleets under their management; thereby assigning the Ministry of Public Security to preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and Party committees and authorities at all levels, especially at commune, ward and town levels, to conduct reviews and controls to be completed before October 5, 2025.

The Prime Minister requested Party committees and authorities at all levels to seriously implement Directive No. 32-CT/TW dated April 10, 2024 of the Secretariat on strengthening the Party's leadership in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and sustainable development of the fisheries sector.

For any locality that cannot do or manage, the Government Party Committee will have an official document reporting to the Secretariat and the Politburo for consideration and handling in accordance with the spirit of Directive 32.

The head of the Government also assigned relevant ministries and branches to strictly manage the origin of goods; amend Decree No. 38/2024/ND-CP of the Government regulating administrative sanctions in the field of fisheries, towards increasing the level of sanctions; carry out international cooperation in seafood exploitation; and shift from offshore fishing to aquaculture and processing.