Hanoi (VNA) - Relevant ministries and agencies must continue to review and verify data on violating fishing vessels, particularly those detained for illegal exploitation or encroaching on foreign waters, said Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on December 2.
He told the 24th meeting of the National Steering Committee for Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, which virtually connected with 21 coastal cities and provinces.
As from now until December 15 is a critical time to complete remaining tasks related to the fight against IUU, Ha demanded authorities take full responsibility for handling administrative and criminal violations involving vessels detained abroad, supplying the European Commission (EC) with complete documentation, including invoices, asset-seizure records, revoked licenses, and photo evidence to prove sanctions have been fully executed. Cases blocked by the expired statute of limitations or exceptional circumstances must be explicitly justified, with the goal of zero outstanding violations.
He insisted inspections go beyond paperwork to on-site verification of penalties, vessel monitoring system (VMS) connections, port management, origin certification, and the grounding of unfit boats, stressing that all data presented to the European Commission (EC) and international partners must be accurate and transparent.
On the national fisheries database VNFishbase, Ha asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to finalise regulations on data access, user authorisation, and accountability this week. Fishing vessel owners and captains will be held personally accountable for maintaining electronic logbooks, tracking voyages, and submitting catch declarations, which are integral to the licensing and certification processes.
He also tasked telecom giants Viettel and VNPT with helping build an integrated national fisheries database covering both wild-catch and aquaculture sectors. Coastal localities must evaluate system performance, pilot private-port engagement in vessel monitoring and certification, and urgently submit a Government-backed livelihood transition project promoting high-tech offshore aquaculture, fisheries services, and marine tourism.
Separately, he instructed ministries, agencies and the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) to accelerate amendments to the Fisheries Law to align with US, EU, and other international requirements.
While the revised law is pending, they must prepare detailed compatibility assessments covering protected species, the 12 fishery categories still deemed non-equivalent by the US, and the 14 already recognised, and draft a Government resolution on environmental protection and fisheries management that resolves remaining legal and technical conflicts with major export markets.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources Phung Duc Tien reported that as of November 29, all 101 tasks assigned by the Prime Minister had been completed and all violations handled nationwide. Authorities imposed fines totaling roughly 162 billion VND (6.23 million USD) across 4,037 cases and launched criminal proceedings against 91 cases involving 138 individuals.
A total of 79,243 fishing vessels have now been registered and updated on VNFishbase, with non-compliant boats placed under strict local supervision at designated anchorage zones./
