Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has tasked Viettel and VNPT with working alongside the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to review and upgrade VNFishbase, aiming to develop a unified national database for both capture fisheries and aquaculture.
At the 24th meeting of the National Steering Committee on combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing on December 2, the Deputy PM noted that although ministries, sectors and localities had completed all 101 assigned tasks, Vietnam has yet to meet the goal of lifting the European Commission’s “yellow card” after more than eight years. He called for stronger, more substantive actions.
He requested detailed updates on the progress of VNFishbase and said inspection teams would visit localities this week to verify on-site implementation from border guard forces and fishing ports to fisheries sub-departments and vessel management to ensure “real changes, not just on paper”.
Regarding recent EU warnings involving swordfish shipments, MARD said the cases were linked to two companies in Khanh Hoa Province. The ministry has ordered a full review of documentation and supply-chain data to clarify any fraudulent practices. The Deputy PM instructed Khanh Hoa authorities to take full responsibility and apply strict measures; cases showing signs of criminal violations must be transferred to investigators and publicly disclosed.
At the meeting, representatives of the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) reported that the United States had declined to recognise the equivalence of 12 Vietnamese capture fisheries under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), resulting in additional technical and trade barriers. VASEP is working with MARD and experts to finalise a response dossier and proposed maintaining the issuance of catch certificates (COI) for 14 fisheries already recognised by the US to secure legally sourced materials for export.
Concluding the meeting, the Deputy PM said all IUU-related tasks must be completed before December 15. He ordered ministries and localities to review data on vessel violations, particularly boats arrested for illegal fishing or encroaching foreign waters, and to reconcile discrepancies between Vietnamese and EC records. Local authorities must provide full documentation, including confiscation reports, cancelled licences and supporting evidence.
For VNFishbase, he requested field checks to ensure the system functions as described. MARD was assigned to refine data management regulations, clearly defining responsibilities for users, especially vessel owners and captains in logging fishing activities, tracking vessel movements and declaring catches.
Localities were also asked to assess system performance and propose livelihood transition models, sustainable fisheries development strategies, offshore aquaculture technologies, and tourism-service initiatives linked to the fisheries sector.
VFM
