Dong Thap Focuses on IUU Fishing Prevention During Peak Month

(DTO) On the afternoon of August 24, the Dong Thap Provincial Steering Committee on combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing convened its August 2026 meeting.

According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment, Dong Thap has registered all 1,479 local fishing vessels, achieving a 100% completion rate. To date, licensing has been finalized for all 1,326 active vessels. The province records 153 fishing vessels ineligible for operation, which are being closely monitored weekly by local authorities. Of the province's 899 fishing vessels required to install Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS), 878 have been equipped.

The remaining vessels lack VMS equipment because their owners are serving sentences, the vessels are reported missing for deregistration, or they are undergoing repairs. Dong Thap has completed updating fishing vessel data into the national fisheries database VNFishbase and the VMS system, reaching 100%, while fishing vessel identification stands at 99.9%.

Recently, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has regularly coordinated with the Border Guard Command to effectively control fishing vessels declaring arrival and departure procedures through ports and border posts via the electronic catch documentation and traceability system (eCDT). As a result, 100% of fishing vessels entering or leaving ports and passing through border stations are monitored through eCDT, VMS, and VNeID.

The province also maintains round-the-clock duty shifts to monitor and notify fishing vessel owners and captains of VMS signal losses or maritime boundary breaches, requesting them to comply strictly with legal regulations. Local authorities are closely managing ineligible, high-risk vessels, and those remaining docked after prolonged VMS disconnection.

From 2024 to date, no Dong Thap fishing vessel has violated foreign waters.

At the meeting, leaders of departments and localities reported on IUU fishing prevention efforts, including: management of active and ineligible fishing vessels; implementation of food safety commitments; and the audit of local seafood exporters to the European market. They also outlined key tasks to be prioritized in the coming period.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment Tran Thi Be Bay emphasized that September 2026 will mark the peak month for combating IUU fishing. The department has assigned the Fisheries Sub-Department and fisheries surveillance forces to launch patrol and enforcement campaigns, while coordinating closely with the Border Guard to tighten fleet management.

For violations, authorities must resolutely and promptly take action as required, with case files completed within 60 days. Violations must be thoroughly addressed, with no outstanding case files left unresolved.

The Department of Agriculture and Environment asked localities to exert maximum efforts in carrying out their assigned tasks during the peak month, with the goal of swiftly lifting the “yellow card” imposed on Vietnam's fisheries. The department called on local authorities to streamline their workloads and prioritize IUU enforcement.

By T. DAT
Translated by X.QUANG