Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has called on ministries, sectors, and coastal localities to urgently and synchronously deploy essential tasks and solutions to end the situation of Vietnamese fishing vessels and fishermen violating foreign waters; to rigorously address acts of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, with the goal of lifting the European Commission’s (EC) « yellow card » warning.
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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed Official Telegram No. 122/CĐ-TTg on July 25, 2025, urging ministries, sectors, and localities to strengthen the fight against IUU fishing. This telegram was sent to the Ministers of Defense, Police, Agriculture and Environment, Foreign Affairs, Justice, Science and Technology, Finance, as well as to the Chairpersons of the People’s Committees of coastal provinces and cities.
The telegram states that, as part of implementing Directive No. 32-CT/TW dated April 10, 2024, of the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee regarding strengthening Party leadership in the fight against IUU fishing and sustainable development of the fisheries sector, the Government promulgated Resolution No. 52/NQ-CP on April 22, 2024, on the action program and implementation plan for said directive.
To date, efforts to combat IUU fishing have yielded positive results; illegal fishing acts have been prosecuted and sentenced, creating a deterrent and educational effect within coastal fishing communities. The number of Vietnamese vessels and fishermen violating foreign waters has decreased compared to 2024.
Strengthening Maritime Control
However, violations of foreign waters by Vietnamese vessels and fishermen remain complex, with increasingly sophisticated methods, and competent forces still lack effective measures to prevent them. Since early 2025, 16 fishing vessels have been apprehended and sanctioned by foreign countries; among them, 13 boats had false registrations or were unregistered, with 90 Vietnamese fishermen arrested and penalized.
The telegram highlights that the main cause of the lack of control over IUU violations is lax management of vessels that do not meet operating conditions, as well as insufficient rigor in monitoring vessels at sea and at port.
Moreover, some agency and locality leaders do not sufficiently prioritize the leadership and implementation of anti-IUU fishing missions, contrary to the spirit of the Secretariat’s, Government’s, and Prime Minister’s instructions.
To effectively prevent and handle violations, the Prime Minister requires ministries, sectors, and coastal localities to regard the fight against IUU fishing as an urgent, important, and essential task for the sustainable development of the maritime economy and fisheries sector.
Ministers and Chairpersons of People’s Committees of coastal provinces and cities must strictly implement relevant directives and resolutions; simultaneously, they must prioritize allocating resources to competent agencies to efficiently accomplish this mission and comply with EC recommendations.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is designated as the permanent body of the National Steering Committee against IUU fishing, responsible for intersectoral coordination, organizing inspection missions, guiding and monitoring localities, as well as promptly correcting and handling serious violations.
This ministry must compile, report, and provide comprehensive data according to the Steering Committee’s regulations; it must also collaborate with relevant parties to prepare the report on the implementation of EC recommendations and submit it to the Prime Minister by September 5, 2025.
The Ministry of Defense is tasked with organizing an intensive patrol and control campaign, particularly targeting so-called « three no » vessels (without registration, license, or VMS) in islands, estuaries, and beaches—especially in southern provinces. This campaign must be completed by August 20, 2025. Simultaneously, forces must remain at sea, particularly in border areas with Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc., to protect legal fishermen and timely prevent violations.
Fishing vessels must obtain port departure certificates and be reported to port authorities, communal police, and local administration upon return. All vessels in violation must be controlled and severely sanctioned. Sensitive areas such as the Southwest region require reinforced control.
Units under the Ministry of Defense must quickly investigate, identify, and strictly sanction owners or captains of vessels seriously violating regulations since early 2024. Results must be entered into the administrative sanctions database of the fisheries sector and reported to the National Steering Committee against IUU fishing before August 30, 2025.
Strict Penal Sanctions on Serious Violations
The Prime Minister assigns the Ministry of Police the responsibility of leading competent services to expedite investigations, gather evidence, and prosecute individuals and organizations severely violating IUU fishing regulations. This task must be completed by August 30, 2025. If evidence is insufficient for criminal prosecution, cases must be transferred to competent authorities for administrative handling by August 20, 2025.
Local police must also use technical tools and population data (via VNeID) to monitor, detect, and timely address brokerage, complicity, disabling of VMS devices, or launching of vessels and fishermen violating foreign waters.
The Prime Minister tasks the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with leading diplomatic representations abroad (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, etc.) to protect legitimate rights of fishermen while collecting and providing information and case files concerning arrested or repatriated captains and fishermen to support infringement handling domestically. This mission must be fulfilled before August 15, 2025.
Simultaneously, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue efforts to mobilize international partner support for Vietnam’s anti-IUU fishing efforts and call on the EC to lift the yellow card during the 5th inspection mission.
The Ministry of Justice will continue to review and guide the implementation of administrative sanctions in the fisheries sector; the Ministry of Science and Technology will oversee the quality of VMS equipment and sanction failing suppliers; the Ministry of Finance will continue funding patrols, control, and law enforcement operations at sea.
The telegram emphasizes that Chairpersons of People’s Committees of coastal provinces and cities will be held personally accountable before the Prime Minister if they fail to fulfill tasks related to the fight against IUU fishing. Localities must quickly stabilize their organizations, clarify responsibilities of each unit and individual; control, rectify, and verify results at two administrative levels.
Serious IUU violations since 2024 must be subject to administrative or criminal sanctions according to Resolution 04/2024/NQ-HĐTP and Decree 38/2024/NĐ-CP. Ongoing cases must be actively pursued and adjudicated to exert a strong deterrent effect in fishing communities.
Furthermore, localities must approve intensive action plans mobilizing resources to inform, prevent domestically, and severely sanction individuals or organizations that fail their responsibilities, delay, or neglect IUU violation handling.
Prime Minister has entrusted Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha with direct supervision of ministries, sectors, and localities to ensure effective implementation of this telegram. The ultimate goal is to end violations, lift the « yellow card, » and develop the fisheries sector transparently and sustainably.
« Law enforcement and violation handling remain weak, inconsistent, and incomplete. More worrying are cases of responsibility transfer, avoidance, or even suspected illegal practices in violation handling, evidenced by the same act being sanctioned in one locality but ignored or delayed in another. »
Source: lecourrier
