According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, during the campaign, the volume of seafood traced through fishing ports doubled compared with the previous month. The number of fishing vessels that lost connection with the vessel monitoring system (VMS) or were found to have violated foreign waters fell by more than half.
In many localities, authorities stepped up inspections at fishing ports, checked vessels before they departed, and disseminated information directly to fishermen, reminding them to comply with regulations.
Nguyen Quang Vinh of Lam Dong province, who has worked at sea for nearly 20 years, said: “Before leaving port, I switch on the app to register departure information and wait for confirmation. I just press the fishing icon and the coordinates are automatically updated. This is a special app, so even without a signal or an internet connection, I just enter the information and the coordinates are updated immediately. When I cast the net, I press ‘cast net’, and when I set out to sea, I press ‘start the fishing trip’.”
During the month, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment sent teams to multiple localities to inspect the management and monitoring of fishing vessels, VMS operations, the traceability of catches, and the management of vessels entering and leaving fishing ports.
These activities were part of the European Commission’s recommendations on combating IUU fishing. The inspection teams also helped local authorities identify pending issues and difficulties in managing vessels entering and leaving ports and inactive fishing vessels.
Vu Duyen Hai, Deputy Director of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, said: “The campaign deployed staff to ports to monitor fishing vessels and fishermen at risk of violating foreign waters. We instructed processing plants how to declare production records to meet traceability requirements and prevent mixing materials into export products. We explained the regulations and will check their compliance.”
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment gave provinces and cities new self-assessment and scoring software that uses a 100-point scale. For the first time, local IUU performance indicators are transparent and linked to the central authorities.
Gia Lai, Hung Yen, Ninh Binh, Quang Ninh city, Da Nang city, Dong Thap, Quang Tri, Hai Phong city, and Can Tho city recorded the highest scores for task completion. The results of the month-long campaign will be submitted to the European Commission before October 1 to serve as a basis for the EC’s next inspection.
