Dong Thap Joins Nationwide Efforts to Eradicate IUU Fishing Violations

(DTO) In coordination with nationwide efforts to lift the European Commission’s (EC) “yellow card” warning on Vietnamese seafood, Dong Thap is aggressively cracking down on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Under Official Dispatch No. 1294 recently issued by the provincial People’s Committee on thoroughly rectifying shortcomings in anti-IUU efforts, the provincial Chairman requested heads of agencies, units, and localities to strictly implement directives from the central government and the provincial administration.

The directive emphasizes strict accountability, clearly assigning specific deliverables, milestones, and completion timelines to each organization and individual, while urgently focusing leadership on critical, time-sensitive tasks during this peak campaign.

Accordingly, the provincial Chairman assigned the Department of Agriculture and Environment (DAE) to review the entire fisheries legal framework to promptly identify regulatory loopholes. The department must proactively propose amendments to competent authorities to address existing obstacles, including regulations that clash with practical realities.

At the same time, the Department of Agriculture and Environment (DAE) is tasked with conducting a comprehensive inventory of the fishing fleet by length categories and compiling a list of vessels failing to meet operational standards. Officials will continue verifying and updating information on vessels and owners in the National Fisheries Database (VNFishbase) and the National Population Database (VNeID), ensuring that the data system remains “accurate, complete, clean, and live, within a unified, shared platform.”

The Department of Agriculture and Environment (DAE) is responsible for carrying out registration, technical inspection, licensing, and renewals for eligible boats, while ensuring the timely installation of vessel monitoring systems (VMS). All registered craft must undergo vessel marking and display registration numbers.

One of the essential tasks is to blacklist and strictly monitor vessels ineligible for operation, while fully updating information on deregistered vessels, high-risk IUU offenders, and those with prolonged VMS deactivation on the monitoring system.

The agriculture sector is focusing on reviewing and upgrading infrastructure at two fishing ports, while deploying IT equipment to operate the electronic catch documentation and traceability system (eCDT) and the vessel monitoring system (VMS).

Particular emphasis is being placed on allocating sufficient resources to monitor vessel movements, supervise unloading volumes via eCDT, and ensure that 100% of the fleet docks at designated ports as required. Strict compliance with seafood certification and traceability mandates on the eCDT platform is now mandatory.

The agriculture sector is also executing approved strategies and master plans to promote sustainable development, with a focus on protecting aquatic resources, reducing fishing intensity, expanding aquaculture — particularly mariculture — and supporting sustainable livelihood transitions for coastal fishing communities.

The provincial Border Guard Command has been tasked with conducting peak patrol campaigns targeting activities at open beaches, river mouths, and estuaries to completely ground ineligible boats and prevent any territorial violations in foreign waters. At the same time, authorities will strictly monitor 100% of craft entering and leaving ports or border checkpoints via the eCDT system at Border Guard stations.

The Chairman also assigned targeted anti-IUU tasks to all relevant departments, sectors, and commune/ward-level authorities managing fishing vessels in implementing anti-IUU fishing measures.

By T. DAT
Translated by X.QUANG