A fleet of fishing vessels anchors at a port in HCM City. The city authorities are closely monitoring 100 per cent of vessels entering and leaving ports, refusing sea departure for any non-compliant boats to ensure sustainable fisheries management. — VNA/VNS Photos Huỳnh Sơn

HCM CITY — The HCM City People’s Committee has launched a campaign to address European Commission (EC) recommendations on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, joining national efforts to lift the EC "yellow card" warning in 2026.

To tackle remaining issues, the city is focusing on five key tasks, including strictly managing 100 per cent of its fishing fleet, updating data on the VNFishbase system, and refusing sea departures to non-compliant vessels.

Officials will monitor 100 per cent of fishing boats requiring Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) and maintain 24/7 duty shifts to detect and address signal losses or boundary crossings at sea.

The city aims for all fishing vessels measuring six metres or longer entering and leaving ports to be recorded on the eCDT electronic logbook system, refusing verification for shipments with missing data.

Certificates of origin for seafood exports will be processed online under Circular No. 81/2025/TT-BNNMT.

All departments and local authorities are concentrating resources until September 15 to achieve concrete, verifiable results before transitioning to a modern, transparent, and sustainable fisheries management system.

Earlier, at a National IUU Steering Committee meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Võ Văn Hưng requested that ministries and localities issue implementation plans before August 22.

Simultaneously, the Ministry of National Defence will boost border patrols, the Ministry of Public Security will target illegal exit networks, and localities will standardise database entries under the principle of "one vessel, one identification code, one unified digital file."

Despite positive progress, sustainable results remain lacking due to loose local management, unlinked data systems, limited awareness among vessel owners, and a lack of executive accountability.

Bùi Minh Thạnh, vice chairman of the city People's Committee, said combatting IUU fishing is an urgent political priority tied to national prestige and fishers' livelihoods.

"The city requires the entire system to execute duties based on the principle of clear personnel, clear tasks, clear responsibilities, clear authority, clear timelines, clear products, and clear results."

Heads of coastal local authorities are directly responsible for assigning officials to monitor high-risk vessels.

The city’s Department of Agriculture and Environment will submit a comprehensive report to the ministry prior to September 20, ahead of working sessions with the EC inspection team.

By the end of the campaign, the city aims for 100 per cent data standardisation on VNFishbase, complete VMS compliance at ports, total adoption of the eCDT system for eligible vessels, and zero unresolved infringement cases.

Phạm Thị Na, deputy director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Environment, provided updates on administrative enforcement following multi-agency coordination.

The department collaborated with the city Police, Border Guard Command, Department of Justice, and local authorities to clear all 74 pending cases of vessels disconnecting tracking systems. 

All cases cited in the Government Inspectorate’s conclusions have been resolved, with total fines exceeding VNĐ1 billion (US$38,300). 

Fisheries surveillance forces will step up patrols to penalise illegal fishing practices strictly, applying maximum fines and supplementary penalties without exception throughout the campaign. — VNS