Exceeding the sea and the price to pay
Ganh Ca village, Dong Son commune, Quang Ngai province has long been famous nationwide for its powerful fishing fleet and labor force practicing diving to catch sea worms, prey hills... going out to sea in Hoang Sa and Truong Sa fishing grounds of Vietnam.
However, it is also here that, in the period before 2017, the old Binh Chau commune - now Dong Son commune - used to be a hot spot when it led the country in the number of fishing vessels encroaching on foreign waters. Notably, most of the violating vessels are diving and destroying catches, with many risks but high profits.
Just a few days of fishing in foreign waters can bring in an income equal to a month of fishing in the country. The large profits have caused many fishermen to disregard legal regulations. But the price of that recklessness is also extremely high: fishing boats are confiscated, fishermen are arrested, families are struggling, and debt accumulates.
Not stopping at the damage to each ship and each family, illegal fishing also causes serious consequences for the Vietnamese seafood industry. National reputation is affected, export turnover - especially to the EU market - decreases, international integration efforts are hampered when Vietnam is applied a "yellow card" for seafood, leading to great economic losses and the risk of unsustainable development.
This situation was once so "hot" that in 2017, the leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (old) directly went to Binh Chau commune to work with local authorities and fishermen to find solutions to the problem of combating IUU fishing (illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing).
After frank dialogues and listening to the concerns of fishermen, especially those who have been arrested abroad, a series of synchronous solutions were quickly deployed. Since then, awareness of law compliance in seafood exploitation activities has gradually changed, the number of fishing vessels violating foreign waters has begun to decrease significantly.
According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hung - Chairman of the Binh Chau Fisheries Union of Dong Son commune, in 2017 alone, Binh Chau (old) had 13 fishing boats with 191 crew members arrested and confiscated by foreign countries. "But up to now, the situation of fishing vessels in the commune encroaching on foreign waters has stopped," said Mr. Hung.
Since the beginning of March 2018, hundreds of fishing boat owners in the old Binh Chau have signed a commitment to end violations of foreign sovereignty. Many fishing vessels have boldly switched from diving to more environmentally friendly, safe and sustainable forms of exploitation.
Resolutely handle fishing vessels violating foreign waters
After nearly 8 years of being "yellow card" for seafood, along with 27 coastal provinces and cities, Quang Ngai is taking action with the highest determination to remove this warning. In 2025, the Provincial People's Committee directed functional forces to resolutely handle violations in combating IUU fishing.
Lieutenant Colonel Do Tai Nang - Deputy Chief of Staff of the Provincial Border Guard Command (BDBP) said that the border guards have strictly handled cases of fishing vessels crossing the border and encroaching on foreign waters.
From October 1 to December 5, 2025, the Provincial Border Guard prosecuted 1 case against 2 subjects violating foreign waters; at the same time, handling 143 cases of fishing vessels crossing the border, with a total fine of more than 15 billion VND.
On November 14, 2025, the People's Court of Quang Ngai province held a trial in the case of "Organizing illegal exit for others" to exploit seafood in foreign waters. The two defendants Pham Tien (44 years old, residing in Sa Huynh ward, Quang Ngai) and Nguyen Van Long (49 years old, residing in Ho Chi Minh City) were sentenced to 5 years in prison and 2 years in prison (with a suspended sentence).
Along with that, from the beginning of 2025 to now, many cases of captains who do not comply with inspections, do not maintain signals from the VMS monitoring system, and ship owners who lack documents according to regulations have also been strictly handled. There are many cases of being fined hundreds of millions of VND, stripped of the captain's title for up to 9 months - valuable lessons for disregard for the law.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, from January 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025, the provincial authorities have handled 1,842 fishing vessels that lost VMS connection for 6 hours or more, lost connection for more than 10 days at sea or exceeded the permitted operating boundary. Of which, 776 ships were fined, with a total amount of more than 47 billion VND.
From October 1 to December 5, 2025 alone, 18 fishing vessels in violation have been handled. Notably, the number of ships that have lost VMS connection and crossed the permitted boundary has recently decreased significantly; cases arose mainly due to force majeure.
Quang Ngai has mobilized the entire political system to fight against IUU fishing. The management of fishing vessels and supervision of exploitation activities are increasingly becoming a subject. To close the control round, the Provincial Border Guard increased 40 officers and soldiers for the shore and sea route, along with 4 patrol vehicles.
At border control stations along the coast from north to south of the province, inspection activities are being deployed simultaneously. All fishing vessels with a length of 15m or more must dock at the designated port to unload seafood. spontaneous fishing wharves and shore are also regularly inspected.
Local authorities coordinate with village heads and responsible officers to monitor, attach identification signs, and supervise each fishing vessel at high risk of IUU violations. All fishing vessels must complete the procedures to depart from the border control station before going to sea.
Fisherman Nguyen Quan, owner of the QNg 94848 TS boat, shared: combating illegal fishing is not only a legal responsibility but also a long-term path for sustainable fisheries development. "We have to install VMS, maintain continuous signals and maintain regular contact with authorities throughout the trip," said Mr. Quan.
Ships without sufficient documents will not be allowed to depart. On rivers, seaside gates, and border canoes, they patrol continuously. Oft of sea, border guards, fisheries control, and coast guard have increased means and manpower, determined not to let unqualified fishing vessels go to sea. At the same time, there is the strict supervision of seafood purchasing facilities, fuel supply and logistics service ships.
According to Mr. Ta Ngoc Thi - Deputy Head of the Provincial Department of Fisheries and Sea Affairs, tightening VMS signal management has changed the way fishermen operate fishing vessels. If in the past, VMS was just a sufficient condition to go to sea, now fishermen consider it a legal protection tool for themselves, said Mr. Thi.
When the equipment had problems, many ship owners proactively notified the location to the locality or Department for coordination in handling. Thanks to that, VMS violations have significantly decreased, and a sense of responsibility for the fishing industry has been gradually formed, from the wharf to the fishing port.
The whole province currently has 4,734 fishing vessels in operation that have been licensed 100%), while 115 fishing vessels are not eligible for granting or renewing licenses. The above-mentioned unqualified ships have been closely monitored by localities in coordination with functional forces.
