Vietnam emphasizes role of local leaders for IUU fishing prevention and combat

Prioritizing resources for anti-IUU fishing efforts

On July 25, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed Official Dispatch No. 122, urging ministries and local authorities to intensify their efforts against IUU fishing. The dispatch, sent to the Ministers of National Defense, Public Security, Agriculture and Enviroment, Foreign Affairs, Justice, Science and Technology, and Finance, as well as the chairpersons of the People's Committees of coastal provinces and cities, outlines several urgent and important tasks.

The government has identified the fight against IUU fishing as a critical and urgent long-term task for the sustainable development of the marine economy and the fisheries sector. It calls for concentrated leadership and a prioritized allocation of resources to ensure that competent authorities can effectively and efficiently carry out anti-IUU fishing measures and implement the recommendations from the European Commission (EC).

The dispatch mandates the implementation of coordinated, decisive, and comprehensive measures to protect Vietnamese fishing vessels and fishermen operating legally in border waters. At the same time, it emphasizes the need to resolutely prevent and strictly punish fishing vessels that cross permitted boundaries, violate foreign waters, illegally disconnect their Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) devices while at sea, or engage in brokerage activities that facilitate these violations.

The Prime Minister has assigned the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to lead and coordinate with the Ministries of National Defense, Public Security, Foreign Affairs, and Justice to organize inter-agency working groups. These groups will inspect, urge, and guide local authorities, promptly address and penalize IUU fishing violations, and ensure a thorough crackdown on serious offenses. The ministry is also tasked with holding organizations, individuals, and coastal localities accountable for failing to comply with anti-IUU directives from the Party Central Committee Secretariat, the government, and the Prime Minister. This must be completed before August 30, 2025.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is to fully leverage its role as the permanent agency of the National Steering Committee on IUU. It must ensure accurate data collection and reporting on the anti-IUU fishing situation in accordance with the committee's regulations. The ministry is also responsible for proactively and regularly updating the EC on the results of Vietnam's anti-IUU efforts and preparing a report on the implementation of the "Yellow Card" recommendations. This report must be submitted to the Prime Minister before September 5, 2025.

Intensified patrols and law enforcement

The Prime Minister has instructed the Ministry of National Defense to lead and coordinate with central and local law enforcement agencies at sea to launch a peak patrol and inspection campaign. This campaign will target vessels lacking proper registration, licenses, or origin information (the "3 No's") at islands, river mouths, and coastal areas, particularly in southern provinces, to be completed before August 20, 2025. The ministry is also to maintain a strong, continuous presence of forces and vehicles in border waters with countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia to protect law-abiding fishermen and promptly stop vessels from violating foreign waters.

The Ministry of National Defense is directed to mobilize resources for border guard stations to patrol and inspect fishing vessels entering and leaving ports. It must ensure that all departing vessels have a verified port departure confirmation and that all arriving vessels are reported to the fishing port authorities, local police, and grassroots government for inspection and processing, especially if they do not dock to unload their catch as required.

Additionally, the ministry's affiliated forces are to focus on investigating and prosecuting serious IUU fishing violations discovered since the beginning of 2024. The results of these penalties must be updated in the administrative sanctions database for the fisheries sector. A report on this must be sent to the National Steering Committee on IUU before August 30, 2025. The ministry is also to promote and guide vessel owners and crew members in using the border control station declaration function on the national population database (VNeID).

The Prime Minister has instructed the Ministry of Public Security to order local police units to quickly investigate, gather evidence, and criminally prosecute organizations and individuals involved in serious IUU fishing violations. This task must be completed before August 30, 2025. For cases where there is insufficient evidence for criminal charges, the files should be transferred to other authorities for administrative sanctions, a process to be completed before August 20, 2025.

The ministry is also to direct local police to use technical and professional measures, including the VNeID platform, to monitor, detect, and prevent vessel owners, captains, and brokers from taking vessels and fishermen to violate foreign waters or illegally disconnect VMS devices. The Ministry of Public Security, in coordination with the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment and National Defense, along with local authorities, is to implement the border control station declaration function on VNeID and expand other applications for monitoring and reporting violations. This must be completed before August 10, 2025.

The Ministry of Science and Technology is to ensure the stable provision of satellite mobile services for the VMS. It will also inspect the quality of VMS devices and services, with strict penalties for any organizations or individuals who provide substandard services that disrupt the monitoring of fishing vessels at sea. This must be completed before August 15, 2025.

The dispatch reiterates that the chairpersons of the People's Committees of coastal provinces and cities will be held accountable before the Prime Minister if they fail to complete their assigned tasks, which could jeopardize Vietnam's efforts to remove the EC's "Yellow Card”.