Lam Dong province is intensifying efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, with key measures aimed at addressing recommendations from past European Commission (EC) inspection teams.
The province will roll out extensive communication campaigns to promote the Party’s guidelines and State laws on IUU prevention, particularly the 2017 Fisheries Law, in a bid to enhance fishermen’s awareness and compliance.
Identifying the prevention of foreign waters violations as a crucial step toward having the EC’s “yellow card” warning lifted, Lam Dong will update its list of high-risk individuals and assign local officials, Party members, and relevant forces to closely monitor and manage them.
Authorities will strengthen onshore surveillance and early intervention to deter vessel owners, captains, brokers, and organisers from sending fishing boats into foreign waters or tampering with vessel monitoring system (VMS) devices. The VMS will be fully leveraged to monitor vessels in real time, detect incursions, and prevent violations.
All service vessels and out-of-province fishing boats docking at provincial fishing ports will undergo 100% inspection to ensure compliance with paperwork, port entry/exit procedures, and fishing log requirements. Their positions and voyages will be tracked around the clock from departure to return via the VMS.
Intensive patrols and inspections will be conducted at sea, in estuaries, fishing ports, mooring sites, and coastal zones to promptly detect and strictly handle vessels operating without valid conditions, failing port procedures, or fishing with illegal gear or in unauthorised waters.
According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment, all active fishing vessels 15m or longer are now equipped with VMS devices. Efforts will focus on ensuring their smooth operation, piloting automatic position reporting in case of connection loss at sea, and maintaining 24/7 monitoring. The province will also subsidise VMS service fees for vessels operating in its waters./.
