HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City has reported substantial progress in its fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, following the rollout of a series of comprehensive and stringent measures.
According to the municipal Department of Agriculture and Environment, the city has completed all 19 tasks assigned by the Prime Minister and the National Steering Committee on combating IUU fishing. Core areas, including fleet management, licensing, installation of vessel monitoring systems (VMS), oversight of vessel arrivals and departures, and electronic catch documentation via the eCDT traceability system, have been implemented in a coordinated and systematic fashion.
As of December 9, all of the 4,475 fishing vessels in HCM City had registered and updated in the VNFishbase database, of them 4,268 licensed. The remainder, classified as ineligible, are strictly monitored and kept moored locally, with no permission to put to sea.
The city has strengthened the enforcement of fishing regulations, including tougher penalties, demonstrating its resolve and the close cooperation between relevant agencies and local authorities in the fight, gradually restoring order and discipline in fisheries.
All vessels of 15 metres in length or longer are now equipped with VMS devices that are monitored round the clock. The eCDT electronic traceability system operates at all eligible fishing ports, forming the basis for issuing necessary catch certificates. This plays a crucial role in ensuring transparency across the fisheries supply chain and meeting the European Commission’s recommendations as Vietnam works to have the “yellow card” imposed on its seafood exports lifted.
Public awareness efforts have also been stepped up through innovative initiatives such as “Breakfast with fishermen”, “Morning coffee with fishermen”, mock trials, legal forums, and direct outreach at fishing ports and offshore.
Despite these gains, HCM City still faces significant challenges as many of its fishing vessels and crew are operating in other provinces, hindering communication, oversight, inspections and enforcement efforts due to the absence of an interconnected inter-provincial data-sharing system.
Drawing from practical implementation, Pham Thi Na, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Environment and Standing Vice Chairwoman of the city’s Steering Committee on IUU fishing combat, said the department has proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment instruct the Directorate of Fisheries and the Fisheries Surveillance to add a database field for vessel food-safety certificates to the VNFishbase system. It has also recommended that registry units urgently update lists of vessels that have completed registration to support the management work.
The department further suggested that the Government direct coastal provinces and cities to tighten inspections and monitoring of out-of-province fishing vessels anchoring or operating in their waters, and promptly verify and address violations related to VMS disconnection when vessels enter port./.
