Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà leads the 29th meeting of the steering committee on combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Diệp Trương

HÀ NỘI — Following the 28th meeting of the National Steering Committee on combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has completed and submitted a report on IUU fishing prevention to the European Commission (EC).

Deputy Minister Phùng Đức Tiến provided the information at the 29th meeting of the steering committee, held in Hà Nội on Tuesday and chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà.

According to Tiến, over the past week no Vietnamese fishing vessels were detained by foreign authorities. However, 24 vessels that violated foreign waters have yet to be fully dealt with. He proposed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinate with localities to provide information and resolve the cases thoroughly.

The ministry coordinated with ministries, sectors, localities and relevant agencies to complete key fisheries management data systems, including licensing and registration in the national fisheries database (VNFishbase), electronic fishing logbooks (e-logbook), the electronic catch documentation and traceability system (eCDT), the vessel monitoring system (VMS), and the system for handling administrative violations in fisheries.

User accounts were issued to local authorities and functional forces to enable inspection, cross-checking, timely detection of discrepancies, and standardisation of data in line with regulations.

As of December 31, 2025, 11 out of 22 coastal localities had issued policies on occupational transition in fisheries, namely Ninh Bình, Hưng Yên, Nghệ An, Quảng Trị, Huế, Gia Lai, HCM City, Cần Thơ, Cà Mau, An Giang and Tây Ninh.

At the meeting, representatives from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Việt Nam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) and the Military Industry and Telecommunications Group (Viettel) confirmed that the software system for the transition to the e-logbook and VNFishbase is ready.

Deputy PM Hà requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to issue a circular guiding the transition to the e-logbook within January. In the initial phase, fishing vessels will be allowed to use both paper and electronic logbooks in parallel; after 45 days, the use of electronic logbooks will be mandatory. Failure to comply will be considered a case of unreported fishing.

As reported at the meeting, during the past week, border guard forces processed entry and exit procedures for 19,255 fishing-vessel trips, an increase of 1,632 compared to the previous week. Most vessels met documentation requirements, while those lacking data were instructed to supplement information.

Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Việt Nam People’s Army Lieutenant General Lê Quang Đạo affirmed that digital vessel management, VMS monitoring, traceability and sanctioning have been integrated on a digital platform, providing sufficient grounds for reporting and working with the EC.

Concluding the meeting, the Deputy PM stressed the need for agencies to continue reviewing and regularly updating data to accurately reflect progress and newly achieved results, avoiding repetition of outdated figures.

Regarding the management of vessels whose registrations have been revoked or cancelled, he underlined the need to clearly define legal responsibilities. For fisheries databases and electronic vessel control systems, the agriculture-environment ministry must urgently issue legal and technical guidance to ensure usability by fishermen, captains, crew members and management agencies alike.

On handling violations, localities were requested to act within their authority, promptly complete sanctioning dossiers, and take responsibility for the accuracy and legality of reviewed data. He also asked seafood processing, export and import enterprises linked to the European market to conduct self-declaration, self-review and self-correction. — VNA/VNS