Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung has asked the entire political apparatus to concentrate resources and decisively enforce measures against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, strictly abiding by a "Five Zeroes" principle to remove the European Commission's (EC) "yellow card" warning within 2026 while advancing sustainable fisheries.
Presiding over a meeting of the National Steering Committee on Combating IUU Fishing and Sustainable Fisheries Development on October 13, the Deputy Prime Minister noted that lifting the yellow card a top political priority between now and year-end.
Accordingly, he ordered strict adherence to the "Five Zeroes" mandate: zero fishing vessels intercepted or seized by foreign authorities; zero non-compliant vessels permitted to operate; zero unresolved or prolonged VMS disconnect violations; zero seafood consignments lacking complete origin traceability; and zero statistical discrepancies between submitted reports and real-world administrative dossiers.
Speaking at the meeting, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Trinh Viet Hung stated that following the fifth inspection round, the EC issued 38 corrective recommendations. As of September 30, 2026, Vietnam had fully addressed and verified 31 recommendations; five remain on track for completion, while two are undergoing clarification with the EC due to discrepancies with local operational conditions and Vietnam's domestic legal system.
According to the ministry's fleet management review, more than 80,000 fishing vessels measuring 6 m or longer were registered and updated on the national fisheries database (VNFishbase) by September 30, 2026. The proportion of vessels holding valid fishing licenses reached roughly 96%.
Out of 27,520 fishing boats measuring 15 m or longer, 27,238 have installed Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS). Signal disruption rates have dropped significantly, while 1,773 vessels that temporarily suspended VMS data transmission services have been logged for monitoring and verification.
The ministry noted that Vietnam’s fisheries legal framework fundamentally meets international requirements against IUU fishing. Officials are continuing to review pending recommendations to formulate appropriate administrative measures.
The number of Vietnamese fishing vessels seized by foreign authorities has steadily declined: from 65 vessels in 2023 to 58 in 2024, 35 in 2025, and down to 13 during the first nine months of 2026.
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