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	Raising Legal Awareness to Combat IUU Fishing in HCMC

Early November 2025, at the Phuoc Tinh Border Guard Station, the People's Committee of Long Hai commune (Ho Chi Minh City) and the Phuoc Tinh Border Guard Station co-organized the "Morning Coffee with Fishermen" program. Phuoc Tinh is known as the locality with the largest fishing fleet in Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City. Representatives of the leadership of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City, representatives of departments, branches, localities and border guards attended the event.

Early November 2025, at the Phuoc Tinh Border Guard Station, the People's Committee of Long Hai commune (Ho Chi Minh City) and the Phuoc Tinh Border Guard Station co-organized the "Morning Coffee with Fishermen" program (Photo: TD).

Over a cup of morning coffee in the morning, local leaders directly informed fishermen about the State's guidelines and policies in combating IUU fishing. They also listened to fishermen, giving them guidance to overcome difficulties.

Vessel owners, captains and fishermen frankly reflected on numerous difficulties in the course of fisheries exploitation, ranging from the loss of connection of vessel monitoring systems, challenges in occupational transition, to time-limited fishing bans imposed to regenerate fishery resources. Many opinions expressed the desire for appropriate support policies so that fishermen can feel secure in their livelihoods while fully complying with legal regulations. Fishermen also pointed out that many old fishing vessels have been unable to undergo inspection because their engines were replaced with second-hand ones, forcing dozens of boats to remain idle; procedures for buying and selling fishing vessels between localities remain complicated and do not yet allow for official transfer of ownership; fishing licenses are issued that do not match traditional fishing grounds and occupations; and fishing ports are deteriorating, seriously silted up, and overloaded.

At the event, the locals also proposed the model of "6 months fishing, 6 months off". The schedule can create time for aquatic resources to recover; meanwhile, the fishermen can have time to rest and transform their livelihoods temporarily.

"If there is support to fishermen during the fishing break, we completely agree [to the model], because it not only helps stabilize life but also contributes to long-term protection of fishery resources," said fisherman Nguyen Van Noi.

The fishermen's recommendations were directly answered by representatives of the authorities and local authorities at the program. Some are reserved for further research in the coming time. The authorities also mobilize fishermen to strictly comply with legal regulations when fishing, to actively coordinate and provide information to border guards when detecting abnormal situations.

Thanks to the model of "Morning Coffee with Fishermen", public awareness and sense of law compliance have been increasingly improved, contributing to IUU fishing prevention and control. It contributes to the political system in the roadmap to remove the "yellow card" of the European Commission (EC).

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City, the authority continues to implement many solutions synchronously and drastically against IUU fishing, such as renewing creative and flexible models for IUU fishing information, closely following the reality of fishermen's lives, "Morning coffee with fishermen", "Breakfast with fishermen", "Mock trial", legal seminars, direct guidance at fishing ports and at sea, etc.

Up to now, all fishing vessels of 15 meters or more in the city have been equipped with cruise monitoring devices (VMS), monitoring 24/24 hours. The eCDT electronic traceability system is operated at 100% of eligible fishing ports, as a basis for issuing certificates of certification (SC) and certification (CC) of seafood origin, contributing to the transparency of the fishery exploitation and consumption chain, meeting the recommendations of the EC.

As of December 09, there are 4,475 fishing vessels in HCMC, reaching 100% registration and updating data on the VNFishbase system; of which, 4,268 ships have been granted fishing licenses (accounting for 95.37%). The number of ships that do not meet the conditions is strictly managed, anchored in the locality. They are not allowed to go to sea, thereby preventing the risks of IUU violations.

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