Ho Chi Minh City has stepped up outreach and awareness campaigns through various channels while maintaining initiatives such as “Breakfast with Fishermen” and “Morning Coffee with Fishermen,” which provide opportunities for local authorities to engage directly with fishermen and better understand their concerns and aspirations.
As a result of these efforts, no fishing vessels from the city have been reported violating foreign waters since the beginning of 2026.
On the morning of June 10, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City organized a preliminary conference to evaluate the results of implementing tasks against Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in the first 6 months of 2026 and directions and tasks for the last 6 months of 2026.
Bui Minh Thanh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City cum Head of the IUU Steering Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, chaired the workshop.
All of vessels updated in the national database
Speaking at the conference, Pham Thi Na, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment and Permanent Deputy Head of Ho Chi Minh City's IUU Steering Committee, said that as of June 5, the city had 4,445 fishing vessels.
Of the total, 2,197 vessels, or 49.43 percent, operated in offshore waters, while 626 vessels (14.08 percent) operated in inshore areas and 1,622 vessels (36.49 percent) in coastal waters.
According to Ms. Pham Thi Na, the city's fishing fleet has been reduced in size to better align with available aquatic resources. She added that information on all registered fishing vessels has been fully updated in the national fisheries database.
During the first six months of the year, the city removed 36 fishing vessels from its registry in accordance with the Law on Fisheries and guidance issued by the Department of Agriculture and Environment
As of now, 390 fishing vessels remain ineligible for operation. Among them, 162 vessels have expired fishing licenses, 286 have expired technical safety certificates, 180 have expired food safety certificates, and 21 have yet to install vessel monitoring systems as required by regulations.
Ho Chi Minh City has also installed GPS devices on unqualified fishing vessels anchoring inside and outside the locality to serve tracking and monitoring, and timely detect cases where vessels intentionally move to exploit fisheries illegally.
The city continues to promote propaganda work in many forms, while maintaining models of "Breakfast with Fishermen" and "Morning Coffee with Fishermen" for local authorities to directly exchange, listen to the thoughts and aspirations of fishermen. Thanks to this, from the beginning of 2026 until now, no fishing vessels have been detained by foreign countries.
However, through the fishing vessel monitoring system, 86 vessels were detected with signs of losing connection with vessel monitoring systems at sea; no fishing vessels were recorded crossing the permitted boundaries at sea. At the same time, administrative violations were handled in 18 cases, enforcing 100 percent of sanctioning decisions with a total amount of more than VND500 million.
City strictly handles illegal exploitation acts
According to the IUU Steering Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, over the past time, propaganda work, combined with handling administrative and criminal violations, has contributed to increasing deterrence, creating a change in people's awareness.
Thanks to that, the number of fishing vessels violating foreign waters and being detained has decreased significantly over the years, and the number of fishing vessels losing connection with vessel monitoring systems has also decreased compared to 2025. The awareness and consciousness of abiding by the fisheries law and regulations on IUU fishing of officials, authorities, and fishermen of the city have also positively changed through information and propaganda activities.
However, the fluctuations in the group of fishing vessels unqualified for operation still occur frequently, requiring continuous review, updating, and enhanced management. The purchase, sale, transfer, and change of ownership of fishing vessels between localities still face many difficulties, affecting the efficiency of state management.
In addition, the verification and handling of cases involving lost connections with vessel monitoring systems still face obstacles, causing the progress of handling some cases to not yet meet the set requirements.
To continue implementing the tasks, measures to combat IUU fishing, and actions to address the European Commission's (EC) recommendations, the Ho Chi Minh City IUU Steering Committee has called for strengthened leadership and direction, as well as enhanced effectiveness of efforts to combat IUU fishing throughout the city. At the same time, strict enforcement measures should be applied against violations related to illegal fishing activities in foreign waters.
The IUU Steering Committee of Ho Chi Minh City will continue to prioritize resources for investigating, verifying, documenting, and strictly handling cases involving fishing vessels that lose vessel monitoring system (VMS) connectivity, operate beyond permitted fishing boundaries, or violate foreign waters.
At the same time, the committee will coordinate with local authorities at the commune and ward levels to review and support compliance procedures, including vessel registration, fishing license issuance, and food safety certification for eligible fishing vessels seeking to engage in fishing activities.
