Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has ordered immediate measures to put an end to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in November.
Addressing the 15th online meeting of the National Steering Committee on combating IUU fishing connected with 21 coastal provinces and cities on September 30, PM Chinh asked for the complete settlement of all violations related to the loss of Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) connections by October 5, 2025.
After listening to reports reviewing progress since the previous session, including vessel monitoring, settlement of IUU violations, digitalisation of data, traceability of aquatic products, livelihood transition support, and preparations for the European Commission’s inspection mission, the PM praised swift action by ministries and localities, noting progress in vessel management, traceability and law enforcement.
However, he highlighted persistent shortcomings, especially VMS disconnections, maritime boundary breaches, and incursions into foreign waters.
Reaffirming the Government’s determination to “declare war on IUU fishing”, PM Chinh set the target of eliminating it in November 2025. He stressed that vessels must be tightly controlled, violators must be strictly punished, and leaders of Party committees and local authorities failing their duties must be disciplined under the Party and State's regulations.
The PM instructed police and local authorities to review all fleets, prevent unlicensed vessels from operating, revoke licences of violators, and enforce traceability checks.
Warning that poor performance would be reported to the Politburo and Secretariat, he demanded greater accountability from leaders of provinces and cities.
The Ministry of Justice was tasked with revising administrative penalties to increase deterrence, while ministries and localities must speed up job conversion schemes towards aquaculture.
The Government leader also assigned specific tasks and deadlines to particular ministries and agencies.
Viettel was requested to complete digitalisation of IUU management by October 5, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was requested to provide records of Vietnamese fishermen detained abroad in 2024–2025 by October 10, and enhance cooperation with neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
Meanwhile, coastal localities were directed to ensure sufficient resources, enforce measures, report weekly progress, and apply both administrative and criminal penalties where appropriate.
