Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) — The Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City has been instructed to urgently review and handle all pending cases related to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by February 5.
Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Van Duoc made the request in an official dispatch concerning the IUU fishing combat.
The issuance of the dispatch aims to strictly implement instructions from Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on strengthening IUU fishing prevention and control, particularly as Vietnam is intensifying preparations for upcoming working sessions with an inspection delegation from the European Commission (EC). The task has been identified as urgent and of critical importance to national efforts to remove the EC’s “yellow card” warning imposed on Vietnam’s fisheries sector.
Preliminary reviews indicate that the settlement of IUU fishing cases in the city has remained slow. In response, Duoc required the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment to take decisive action, including the development of specific plans and solutions to immediately address delays.
Relevant agencies were instructed to mobilise all available resources to conduct a thorough review of each dossier and resolve all violations in strict compliance with legal regulations, ensuring that all cases are officially closed by the February 5 deadline. The Chairman also emphasised the need for the department to step up inspection and supervision, and regularly review and assess the implementation of directives issued by central authorities and city leaders on IUU fishing control.
Notably, the Chairman has mandated daily reporting by the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, with comprehensive updates on the number of violation cases reviewed, processed, and finalised in accordance with regulations. This reporting mechanism is considered a key tool for the city’s leadership to closely monitor progress, promptly address shortcomings, and ensure substantive effectiveness in IUU fishing prevention efforts.
According to reports from the Department of Agriculture and Environment, from January 1, 2024 through the end of 2025, the city recorded 1,827 violations related to loss of vessel monitoring system connectivity or exceeding permitted fishing boundaries. Following reviews, competent authorities imposed administrative fines totaling more than 8.9 billion VND (343,200 USD) on violating vessels.
Since the beginning of 2026, city authorities have reported no cases of vessels losing connectivity for more than 10 days and no fishing vessels operating beyond authorised fishing zones. Twenty vessels were recorded as having lost connectivity for more than six hours, but vessel owners duly reported their positions as required, re-established connections, and have since resumed normal operations at sea./.
Deputy PM urges strengthening management, oversight in combating IUU fishing
The European Commission has acknowledged Vietnam’s serious and systematic implementation of anti-IUU fishing solutions, particularly in improving the legal framework, applying science and technology, and establishing inspection and monitoring mechanisms from the central to the local levels.
