Hanoi (VNA) - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired the 15th meeting of the National Steering Committee on combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, connected online with 21 coastal cities and provinces.
The event, convened just a week after the 14th meeting, underscored the Government’s determination to eliminate IUU practices and secure the removal of the European Commission (EC)’s “yellow card” warning against Vietnam’s seafood exports this year.
Opening the session, PM Chinh, speaking on behalf of Party General Secretary To Lam and other State leaders, offered condolences to communities devastated by Typhoon Bualoi, the 10th hitting the East Sea this year. The latest storm claimed at least 41 lives, left many injured, damaged 44,230 homes, submerged 824 residences, and ravaged roughly 6,000 ha of rice and crops, alongside 1,338 ha of aquaculture. Infrastructure across affected areas also sustained widespread damage.
He said the Government, Deputy PMs and relevant authorities have closely monitored the storm’s impact, visited affected areas, and directed response efforts to mitigate the fallout.
The PM reiterated that the steering committee must convene weekly to review tasks assigned to ministries, agencies and localities, track progress, and untangle bottlenecks. The ultimate goal, he said, is to tighten oversight, foster sustainable fisheries, ensure accountability, and have the EC’s "yellow card" warning lifted.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment was asked to deliver concise weekly reports detailing IUU indicators, emerging obstacles, and areas of progress. Achievements should be built upon, while shortcomings, whether at the ministry or local level, must be promptly rectified.
Coastal provinces and relevant agencies were instructed to provide candid evaluations of their performance on assigned tasks and outline specific measures to swiftly fix shortcomings./.
