Gia Lai province has intensified efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by deploying a smart warning system and implementing a series of stringent, coordinated measures to tighten management of its fishing fleet, particularly vessels that fail to meet operating requirements, in line with the Government’s directives to have the European Commission’s “yellow card” against Vietnamese seafood.
According to the provincial Department of Fisheries, as of January 6, Gia Lai had 5,744 registered fishing vessels, all of which have been fully updated on the VNFishbase database. All active vessels hold valid fishing licences, achieving 100% compliance with the Law on Fisheries.
In coastal areas, unqualified vessels are managed under local control with a daily update mechanism. These vessels are required to anchor at designated locations, display identification signs and commit not to go to sea. Local authorities take photos of vessel conditions and anchoring positions to ensure close monitoring.
Tran Minh Thong, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Phu My Dong commune, said the locality currently has 88 vessels that do not meet operating requirements, mainly due to expired licences, inspection certificates or incomplete procedures related to vessel monitoring systems (VMS). Of these, 51 vessels are anchored locally, 35 outside the province, one has been reported missing, and one is undergoing ownership transfer.
For locally anchored vessels, authorities have coordinated with border guard units to strictly prevent departure until all legal requirements are fulfilled, while installing surveillance cameras and clearly marking vessels as ineligible for fishing. For vessels anchored outside the province, task forces have directly met owners and captains to require vessels to return to shore, remove fishing gear and refrain from fishing activities.
Nguyen Huu Nghia, Director of the provincial Department of Fisheries, said the province maintains round-the-clock operation of shore-based monitoring stations to supervise fishing activities via VMS. Timely warnings are issued and coordination carried out with vessel owners, families and border guards whenever violations such as signal loss or boundary breaches are detected.
Since October 24, 2025, Gia Lai has been running a smart automatic warning system that instantly shows alerts and sends notifications when vessels cross allowed boundaries or lose VMS connection for too long. Thanks to this, long VMS signal disconnections have dropped significantly, with no incidents lasting over six hours in recent weeks.
Gia Lai currently has three designated type-II fishing ports—Quy Nhon, De Gi and Tam Quan. Authorities report that all vessels with a length of 15 metres or longer have complied with regulations on designated port entry and product landing.
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Duong Mah Tiep said Gia Lai has completed all 19 tasks assigned by the Prime Minister in the fight against IUU fishing. The province will continue to prioritise strict fleet management, particularly preventing unqualified vessels from operating, and ensuring 100% control of vessel entry and exit at ports.
Gia Lai’s efforts to prevent IUU fishing have shown clear progress, but challenges remain, such as vessels operating beyond the province, rules on vessel modifications, and VMS connection issues. Tackling these problems will need better coordination between agencies and stronger policy backing from the government to meet EC requirements./.
