The delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phung Duc Tien, Deputy Head of the National Steering Committee on IUU.
Representing the city was Mr. Hoang Nguyen Dinh, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and Head of the city’s IUU Steering Committee, along with leaders of relevant departments and agencies.
Reporting at the working session, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City said that as of February 24, 2026, the city had 4,450 registered fishing vessels, with 100 percent of their data updated in the national fisheries database (VNFishbase).
Of these, 4,305 vessels are eligible for licensing. Among boats measuring over 15 meters in length, 2,204 out of 2,227 have installed vessel monitoring systems (VMS), reaching 98.97 percent compliance. The remaining 23 vessels without VMS devices are under strict supervision and barred from going offshore. The city maintains round-the-clock monitoring to promptly detect and address vessels that lose signal connectivity. A further 490 vessels that do not meet operational requirements—due to missing licenses, expired inspections, or failure to install VMS—have been placed on a 100 percent managed watch list.
The city currently operates nine fishing ports (seven Class II and two Class III), including four ports authorized to certify seafood origin. Since 2024, more than 27,200 vessel arrivals have been recorded, with total landings of nearly 222,000 tons. Authorities have issued 309 Statements of Catch (SC) and 1,317 Catch Certificates (CC) to support exports. An Electronic Catch Documentation and Traceability (eCDT) system and e-logbooks are being rolled out, with 49 vessels having adopted the system in the initial phase.
Between 2024 and 2025, authorities recorded 1,827 violations. Of these, 376 cases were sanctioned, with total fines amounting to nearly VND12 billion (US$456,000). The remaining cases were closed due to insufficient grounds for administrative penalties.
In the first two months of 2026, authorities have detected no vessels crossing permitted maritime boundaries, 38 boats that lost signal connectivity are currently under verification. Since 2024, enforcement forces have handled 669 administrative violations and initiated, investigated, and brought to trial nine criminal cases related to tampering with vessel monitoring systems (VMS), organizing illegal departures abroad, and falsifying seafood origin documents.
Following on-site inspections at local ports, the delegation identified several shortcomings, including delays in document processing, inconsistencies in data reporting, sanctioning decisions that failed to fully specify violations, and case files that did not comply with regulatory requirements. The delegation urged Ho Chi Minh City to tighten control over fishing vessels operating or unloading catches in other localities to prevent illegal fishing in unauthorized waters.
Addressing the meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phung Duc Tien said a delegation from the European Commission (EC) is expected to inspect the city’s implementation of anti-IUU measures on March 10, 2026. He has called on authorities to pursue violations to the fullest extent and impose stringent penalties to strengthen deterrence, tighten oversight of the active fleet at sea, and complete all documentation in preparation for the EC visit.
According to Mr. Phung Duc Tien, lifting the EC’s “yellow card” warning is a shared responsibility of the entire political system, contributing to the development of a sustainable, responsible fisheries sector with deeper international integration.
