Vietnam has shown high determination in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing to have the European Commission’s “yellow card” against its fisheries sector removed, with many achievements and positive changes recorded since 2017, commented Nguyen Anh Thu, a researcher of the Blue Security Fellowship programme at Australia’s La Trobe University.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a conference in Hanoi on April 11 to popularise new contents in regulations on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing prevention and combat prescribed in newly-issued legal documents.

Ahead of the coming inspection by a European Commission (EC) delegation, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) recently asked the administrations of coastal localities to review the situation of fishing vessels unable to be tracked via vessel monitoring systems (VMS).

Fishing vessels in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang have strictly followed regulations and proactive monitoring measures to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, according to the provincial Steering Committee for IUU Fishing Prevention and Control.

Tam Hai island commune in Nui Thanh district, the central province of Quang Nam, which owns the strongest fishing boat fleet in Quang Nam, has seen a considerable change in local fishermen’s awareness of fisheries regulations and the prevention and combat of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing thanks to effective communications efforts of local authorities.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has asked localities to take strong measures to fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and prepare for the visit by the European Commission’s inspection team in October to assess Vietnam’s progress in combating IUU fishing.

Installing Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) equipment and supervising their operations play an important role in removing the European Commission (EC)’s “yellow card” warning on Vietnamese seafood.

The south-central province of Binh Dinh is determined to have no local fishing boats violating foreign waters in the next six months before the European Commission (EC) review the “yellow card” against Vietnamese fisheries sector, according to Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Ho Quoc Dung.

The central coastal province of Thanh Hoa has made public a list of 344 fishing vessels showing high risks of violating regulations against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, according to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has asked coastal localities to coordinate in handling the fishing boats that lose contact with the vessel monitoring system (VMS) for more than 10 days at sea.