Pham Anh Tuan, Chairman of the Gia Lai Provincial People’s Committee and Head of the Steering Committee for IUU Fishing Prevention, chaired a provincial meeting on Wednesday to review anti-IUU measures ahead of the EC’s fifth inspection mission.
Vice Chairman Duong Mah Tiep, also Deputy Head of the committee, joined provincial leaders and coastal commune officials.
According to authorities, Gia Lai has 5,827 registered fishing vessels measuring six meters or more, all updated in the national Vnfishbase system. Among these, 1,841 operate in inshore waters, 804 in nearshore areas, and 3,182 in offshore zones.
Following the EC’s fourth inspection in October 2023, the province implemented several compliance measures: Strict management of the fishing fleet, particularly vessels at risk of entering foreign waters illegally; Adoption of electronic catch documentation and traceability (eCDT) to ensure transparency and legality;
Enforcement of penalties for vessels disconnecting from the vessel monitoring system (VMS) or crossing permitted fishing boundaries.
Despite these measures, violations persist. From March to May 2024, 10 vessels were detained by foreign authorities, with fines of VND 7.2 billion issued in eight cases, and criminal proceedings initiated against two vessels.
As of 2024, authorities handled 228 VMS disconnection and boundary violation cases, collecting over VND 8.1 billion in fines.
Chairman Tuan stressed that lifting the EC’s yellow card on Vietnamese seafood is a national priority.
The province also launched a high-intensity campaign against IUU fishing, involving the entire political system to strengthen compliance and restore Vietnam’s credibility in global seafood markets.
