Strengthen propaganda and strictly handle violations
From the beginning of 2025 to now, Ca Mau province has issued a decision to sanction 39 IUU fishing violations, including 8 cases of disconnecting Voiture monitoring devices (VMS), 6 cases of exploitation in the wrong area, and 25 other cases. In particular, a case of organizing and brokering for others to illegally enter and exit the country associated with IUU activities has been prosecuted; 2 ships have been prosecuted for violating foreign waters, and the remaining 4 ships are being investigated.
These are strong moves that demonstrate the province's strong determination to thoroughly handle violations and maintain legal discipline.
The Chairman of the People's Committee of Ca Mau province has directed the launch of a peak period of general inspection, verification and digitization of data of all fishing vessels at risk of IUU violations, assigning specific tasks to each department, branch and locality. The province assigned officers to directly monitor each group of vessels, strengthening coordination between fisheries control forces, border guards, coast guard and local authorities. In particular, coastal localities must directly participate with grassroots professional unions and forces.
Fishing vessels that lose VMS signals, intentionally cut off equipment or do not declare will be strictly handled, considering this a focus of supervision by the forces; Communication and awareness raising work has been promoted, ensuring that 100% of fishermen, especially boat owners with vessels over 15 meters, have full access to new regulations, such as Resolution No. 04/2024/NQ-HDTP of the People's Court on criminal handling of violations in the field of fisheries exploitation.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich, owner of a fishing boat in Song Doc commune, shared: "My family has 4 fishing boats, of which 2 are over 15 meters long. I and many fishermen here understand our responsibilities. We support and commit to accompanying the government in the efforts to remove the yellow card for the long-term future of the sea profession".
Mr. Do Van Su - Chairman of Song Doc Commune People's Committee - said that this locality has more than 2,000 fishing vessels in operation. Of which, 989/987 ships have been installed with voyage monitoring devices (numbers difference due to some newly registered or updated administrative data).
Regarding the management of connection of journey monitoring devices, the rate of digital transformation of unconnected ships has reached 99.32% out of a total of 147 ships, of which 80.95% of ships meet the requirements according to regulations. The locality currently has 4 "3 no" ships (no registration, no inspection, no fishing license). All four ships have been included in the digital list, but only two have met the requirements.
Ready for EC's 5th inspection
Ca Mau has 3 sides bordering the sea, with large fishing grounds, so the province has up to 5,302 fishing vessels, of which 1,974 vessels are 15 meters or longer - subject to mandatory journey monitoring and certification of fishing origin. The province has 5 fishing ports in operation, including 3 ports that are qualified to confirm the origin of aquatic products: Song Doc Port, Rach Goc Port (class II) and Cai Doi Vam Port (class III).
It is expected that by the end of 2025, the EC Inspection Team will inspect Vietnam for the 5th time, which is considered a decisive opportunity for Vietnam to remove the "yellow card" for seafood exploitation. Together with coastal localities across the country, Ca Mau has proactively prepared complete documents, clearly assigned responsibilities, ensured the highest readiness to demonstrate specific efforts in the fight against IUU fishing.
The province clearly assigns the responsibilities of each department, branch, unit, and locality, requiring statistics, digitalization, and arrangement of scientific records to promptly provide to the inspection team. The shortcomings that the EC has pointed out such as fishing vessel management, journey monitoring, port control, and handling of violations have all been focused on by the province to review and overcome each task; resolutely in overcoming the "yellow card" according to the EC's recommendation.
As one of the localities with the largest fishing output in the country, Ca Mau is demonstrating high political determination, concrete, synchronous and continuous action in implementing the EC's recommendations. The goal is not only to remove the "yellow card" but also to build a modern seafood exploitation industry, comply with international law, respect marine resources, protect the environment and ensure long-term livelihoods for fishermen.
