Combating IUU fishing has achieved many positive results

Recent efforts to prevent and combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the former Ba Ria - Vung Tau province have produced many encouraging results.

Mr. Nguyen Bi, Head of the Fisheries Exploitation Division under the Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance Sub-Department, Region 3 of Ba Ria - Vung Tau, emphasized that in line with the directives of the Central Government on IUU prevention, over the past seven years the province has mobilized the concerted participation of the entire political system. Relevant departments, agencies, and sectors have coordinated closely and taken strong, determined actions to implement measures against IUU fishing across the locality.

As a result, by 2023 and up to August 2024, the former Ba Ria - Vung Tau province had for the most part eliminated cases of fishing vessels encroaching into foreign waters. In earlier years, it was common for several hundred fishing vessels at sea to lose their vessel monitoring system (VMS) signal for more than six consecutive hours each day. In contrast, recent years have seen a remarkable improvement, with the number of such cases declining sharply. There are now days when no vessel loses connection for more than six hours, and on other days, only a few isolated incidents are recorded. Particularly serious cases, such as vessels losing their VMS connection for over ten days, have also been drastically reduced.

To address this issue in a timely and systematic manner, the Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance Sub-Department has established a 24/7 monitoring team dedicated to operating the VMS system. This team provides immediate notifications and guidance, requiring vessel owners to fix connection failures at sea promptly. Thanks to these measures, fishermen have gradually developed greater awareness and responsibility, understanding that when their vessels lose connection, they must immediately report their current position and take quick corrective action to restore the system.

In addition, 2024 also marked a significant achievement with the successful registration of 1,076 so-called “three-no” fishing vessels, referring to boats without registration, fishing licenses, or VMS equipment. This step further tightened management and reinforced compliance with anti-IUU regulations.

The policy of the former Ba Ria - Vung Tau province has been to reduce the number of fishing vessels operating with potential risks to fishery resources and the marine environment. Under this orientation, the fishing fleet, which once totaled around 6,000 vessels in 2020, has now been brought down to 4,698. Notably, the number of trawlers - a fishing method known to cause considerable pressure on fish stocks and the marine ecosystem - has declined significantly.

At the same time, implementing seafood traceability for exploited catches in the former Ba Ria - Vung Tau has recorded highly encouraging results. Monitoring and control measures for vessels entering and leaving fishing ports are carried out regularly and systematically. Thanks to this, by June 30, 2025, authorities had supervised 6,335 vessels upon departure from ports and 729 vessels during their arrival.

Fishing ports in the province have made strong efforts to strengthen the process of certifying seafood raw materials supplied to enterprises for processing and export. Up to now, the ports have issued 96 seafood certificates (SC), corresponding to 1,650 tons of seafood products verified for traceability and compliance with regulations. In addition, vessels arriving at or departing from fishing ports are required to declare their operations through the electronic traceability software system on a daily basis.

Alongside these measures, the former Ba Ria - Vung Tau province has also implemented a coordination regulation that brings together various relevant forces, including local authorities, the Border Guard, Police, Coast Guard, Fisheries Surveillance, and Navy. Based on this framework, these agencies maintain regular information sharing and close cooperation, allowing them to promptly detect, investigate, and jointly handle cases of violations occurring at sea.

In the past period, the enforcement of regulations against fishing vessels that lose their vessel monitoring system (VMS) connection has been carried out on a consistent and regular basis in the former Ba Ria - Vung Tau province. Statistics show that out of 72 incidents of vessels losing connection, authorities have already investigated and imposed sanctions in 68 cases, with total administrative fines amounting to 520 million VND (approximately 20,500 USD). For the remaining 4 cases, the Border Guard, in collaboration with local authorities, is continuing to verify and handle the violations in accordance with legal procedures.

Taken as a whole, the efforts in monitoring fishing vessel activities, ensuring the traceability of exploited seafood, and strictly handling violations in the former Ba Ria - Vung Tau province have yielded highly encouraging results. These positive outcomes not only demonstrate the determination of local authorities and relevant forces in combating IUU fishing, but also serve as an important basis for the European Commission to consider in its assessment process, thereby creating the possibility of lifting the current IUU “yellow card” warning imposed on Vietnam’s seafood sector.