HANOI – With only days remaining before the European Commission (EC) delegation’s fifth inspection in early March, Vietnam has entered a sprint to lift the illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) yellow card on seafood exports.
This evaluation is widely seen as a final ultimatum. A successful outcome would restore the nation’s “green” status, while a failure could trigger a catastrophic “red card,” effectively barring Vietnamese seafood from the European Union (EU) market.
To tackle the issue, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha signed Official Dispatch No. 18/CĐ-TTg on February 25, mandating the mobilization of all national resources for the decisive audit. The directive outlines 123 core tasks across five critical areas: legal framework, fleet management, vessel monitoring, traceability, and law enforcement.
For Vietnam, this is no longer a routine technical check but a high-stakes test of national prestige and the livelihoods of millions of coastal residents.
A cornerstone of the current strategy is the integration of advanced technology into maritime governance. Specifically, the Ministry of Public Security has been tasked with launching a vessel and fisher management system integrated with the national VNeID digital identification platform. By synchronizing ship owner data with the national population database, authorities aim to ensure that records are accurate, sufficient, clean, and live.
In major fishery hubs such as HCMC and Ca Mau, surveillance systems now operate 24/7. In the Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau, which manages a fleet of over 5,200 vessels, 100% of them over 15 meters long are now equipped with vessel monitoring systems (VMS). Any vessel failing to maintain a connection is strictly prohibited from leaving port, a move designed to stifle IUU fishing at the source.
To meet the rigorous EU standards, Vietnam is also rapidly deploying electronic Catch Documentation and Traceability (eCDT) systems across key ports. In Danang City, fishermen report that modernized post-harvest preservation and streamlined port processing have significantly boosted product quality, with average crew incomes reaching VND18 million per month. This transition toward a transparent and responsible fishing model is now viewed as the only viable path to securing long-term access to global markets and improving Vietnam’s overall investment climate.
