The delegation from the Danish Parliament’s Foreign Policy Committee learns how the city of Huế monitors its fishing vessels to ensure legal compliance. — VNA/VNS Photo Đỗ Trường

HUẾ — Chairman of the Danish Parliament’s Foreign Policy Committee Michael Aastrup Jensen has praised Việt Nam’s vessel monitoring system for fishing activities and the quality of its seafood products.

During a working session with the Thuận An Fish Port Management Board in the central city of Huế, Jensen expressed his appreciation for the country’s fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, pledging to relay these positive insights to the European Commission (EC).

The Danish delegation witnessed firsthand how Huế’s fishing boats are tracked live through an advanced Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), run by the Directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

They also raised questions about the handling of local fishing vessels caught illegally fishing in foreign waters, the status of foreign vessels violating Việt Nam's maritime boundaries, and the ongoing decline in offshore catch volumes.

The municipal fish port management board reported that 437 offshore fishing vessels in Huế have been equipped with the VMS. The city is now working to integrate vessel management data from the national fisheries database (VNFishbase) and the VMS data into the Hue-S smart urban service platform.

It is also intensifying monthly tracking of each fishing trip to maintain precise records of vessel movements both into and out of the city's ports.

Using real-time monitoring via shore stations, authorities will detect when fishing vessels risk crossing into prohibited zones in the Gulf of Tonkin. Timely warnings are issued to ensure vessels return to Vietnamese waters, preventing their unintentional violations.

Relevant agencies are also taking proactive measures to maintain VMS device connectivity and issuing alerts for vessels at high risk of engaging in IUU fishing, thereby ensuring coordinated action across departments. — VNA/VNS