Fishing boats are anchored at Quy Nhon Fishing Port. (Photo: VOV)

Preparing for their fishing trip, Mr. Nguyen Thien, from Hoai Nhon Dong ward, together with many other fishermen, visited the control room of Quy Nhon Fishing Port (Gia Lai) to install and familiarize themselves with the electronic fishing log app on their smartphones.

Port officials instructed Mr. Thien how to use features such as automatically updating vessel location, recording net deployment times, registering port arrivals and departures, and registering crew members. He said the vessel monitoring system (VMS) helps fishermen transparently track their fishing locations, meet European Commission standards, thereby deterring violations and avoiding administrative penalties.

“Guided by the officials, I realize that using electronic fishing logs is the right thing to do. If done correctly, they would approve it. Otherwise, the port wouldn't process the departure procedures. I had to try my best to get it done,” said Thien. 

Fishermen in Gia Lai Province comply with new regulations for sustainable fisheries development. (Photo: VOV)

Gia Lai province now has 5,742 fishing vessels, of which more than 3,100 are over 15 meters long and regularly operate in offshore fishing grounds.To encourage fishermen to comply with IUU regulations, since late 2025, Gia Lai province’s support policy has eased fishermen’s technology fees, helping them transition from manual fishing management to a transparent, legal, and responsible approach.

Nguyen Huu Nghia, Head of the Fisheries Sub-Department at the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Gia Lai province, said, “This policy subsidizes the subscription fee of vessel tracking devices at 330,000 VND (13 USD) per month for vessels longer than 15 meters. In addition, 4,000 vessels 12 meters or longer that use electronic logbooks also receive a subsidy of 200,000 VND (8 USD) per vessel per month.”