Border guards in Lâm Đồng Province inform local fishermen on the campaign against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in October 2025. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Thanh

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has signed a directive on a month-long campaign against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and promote the sustainable development of Việt Nam’s fisheries sector.

Issued late last week, Directive No 198/CĐ-TTg underscores that combating IUU fishing and lifting the ‘yellow card’ warning from the European Commission (EC) is a critical, urgent and top-priority task.

The document stresses the need to prevent a small number of fishermen, businesses or officials from engaging in illegal activities and neglecting their responsibilities, damaging Việt Nam’s reputation and the livelihoods of law-abiding citizens.

The PM instructed ministers, heads of agencies and chairpersons of coastal provincial and municipal people’s committees to strictly adhere to the official direction from the Party Secretariat, and mobilise all efforts and resources to implement critical and urgent tasks during this campaign.

The Minister of Agriculture and Environment (MAE) is tasked with reviewing and finalising updates to the administrative penalties in the fisheries sector, which must be completed by October 25.

Additionally, the ministry must roll out the electronic catch documentation and traceability system (eCDT) by November 15.

A communication channel must be established with regional fisheries organisations, flag states of vessels and licensing authorities to verify and cross-check vessel management information, fishing licences and transshipment details. This task must be completed by October 30.

The MAE is required to allocate sufficient resources to inspect documents, monitor the volume and composition of imported seafood species at seaports, processing facilities and export locations. Furthermore, it must ensure information and access to international databases to verify data on vessels and imported seafood products.

The ministry must also ensure the integration and connectivity of databases, tracking and updating results of administrative penalties in the fisheries sector with the Ministry of National Defence (MoD).

Meanwhile, the MoD is instructed to implement a national control system for operating fishing vessels, which must be operational by October 30.

The defence ministry is also responsible for directing the Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel) to deploy a VMS disconnection alert system and an e-logbook system. Additionally, the automatic position reporting system for fishing vessels during VMS disconnection must be implemented at both central and local levels.

The defence minister will be in charge of coordinating and deploying resources to conduct frequent patrols and inspections in maritime areas bordering countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, as well as coastal areas, rivers and estuaries. This effort aims to prevent and address IUU fishing violations until the conclusion of the European Commission’s fifth inspection scheduled for the end of 2025.

Additionally, the MoD must synchronise its vehicle control database with the eCDT managed by the MAE before October 30.

The Minister of Public Security is tasked with implementing a system to monitor fishing vessel and fisherman departures via the national e-identification platform (VNeID). They must also identify and investigate individuals who organised or facilitated illegal fishing activities in foreign waters, including fishermen who were detained and later repatriated.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Construction and Ministry of Finance will also coordinate to combat IUU fishing.

The PM also instructed local authorities to ensure that all fishing vessels are registered as required. Accurate vessel registration and licences must be updated to the national fisheries database (VNFishbase).

Measures to phase out unregistered vessels and support VMS equipment upgrades must be implemented. Comprehensive eCDT is required to be operational at all fishing ports by October 30.

Regular reporting on these efforts is required to ensure transparency and accountability. — VNS