Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has directed the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to urgently finalise and submit to the Prime Minister an emergency action plan to implement the European Commission’s (EC) recommendations on combating IUU fishing, in preparation for the EC’s fifth inspection mission.

As many as 23,623 fishing boats or 77.1% of those at least 15 metres long nationwide had been equipped with vessel monitoring systems (VMS) as of June 22, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).