The fight against Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in Viet Nam is not merely a matter of completing technical reports to lift the European Commission’s (EC) "yellow card". Data from the 34th meeting of the National Steering Committee on IUU on April 16, 2026, shows that Viet Nam has made significant strides in legal frameworks and monitoring systems. However, looking at South Korea—a fisheries powerhouse driven by data-centric governance and sustainable livelihoods—it is clear that to truly escape the "shadow" of IUU, a revolution in governance is required: shifting from "administrative control" to "ecosystem operation".
This is especially critical as the Sustainable Fisheries Development Project (SFDP), funded by the World Bank and managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE) alongside local provinces, prepares to sign its loan agreement in May 2026. Implemented over five years, this project represents a vital window for the fisheries sector to transition from "remediation" to "restructuring".
The race from "quantity" to "quality" and the power of AI
South Korea has proven that in modern fisheries, power lies in data control rather than the number of vessels. While Viet Nam manages a fleet of 80,350 vessels (6m and above, as of April 14, 2026) with the VNFishbase system linked to VNeID, enforcement at ports remains a challenge.
The core difference lies in South Korea’s "brain"—the Fisheries Monitoring Center (FMC) integrated with Artificial Intelligence (AI). Their system does more than simple GPS tracking; it automatically identifies illegal fishing behavior by analyzing movement trajectories, even before a fisherman reports it. This technological solution addresses the "VMS disconnection" issue and coordinate fraud that Viet Nam is currently struggling to handle. Viet Nam must look toward major partners like the World Bank and ADB to build a Big Data fisheries system integrated with AI, replacing manual processes with real-time digital data.
Fishing port infrastructure and the “New Deal 300” livelihood solution
A primary reason Viet Nam has yet to lift the "yellow card" is weak port infrastructure, leading to incomplete oversight of offloaded catch. South Korea’s "Fishing Village New Deal 300" initiative offers a new philosophy: transforming fishing villages into multi-value ecosystems. Instead of only investing in "concrete" piers, South Korea selected 300 villages to be restructured into centers for experiential tourism and marine cultural preservation. Here, fishermen are no longer pressured to overexploit resources because they have alternative livelihoods in tourism and homestays.
The SFDP project, with a total investment of over $211 million, provides a rare opportunity to fix Viet Nam's port bottlenecks. However, South Korean experience shows that effectiveness comes from standardizing digitalization alongside infrastructure upgrades. Implementing "Smart Ports" with 24/7 AI camera surveillance and 100% QR coding will not only ensure transparency for the EC but also lay the foundation for a South Korean-style marine tourism economy.
"Fisheries banking" as an economic lever to change behavior
To encourage voluntary compliance, a financial mechanism is needed where fishermen see that "compliance brings wealth; violation brings ruin". South Korea’s Suhyup Fisheries Bank acts as a tool to shift behavior from "spontaneous" to "self-aware". It operates a "compliance-linked credit" mechanism, where only vessels with "clean" VMS data and strict electronic logs (ECDT) can access preferential interest rates of 1–2%. Conversely, a single violation in foreign waters results in the immediate cut-off of all capital and insurance.
Viet Nam could propose that international organizations (IFC, GCF, etc.) work through Vietnamese commercial banks to establish similar "green interest" packages. By legalizing fishing rights and quotas (TAC) as collateral, as South Korea has done, fishermen will protect marine resources as they would their own personal property.
Blue carbon: The sustainable future of the marine economy
The future of the marine industry lies in how much resource we preserve, not just how much we extract. South Korea is a pioneer in "blue carbon" through seaforesting. Fishermen become "ocean forest rangers," earning additional income by selling carbon credits to international climate funds.
This is a breakthrough direction for Viet Nam's livelihood challenges. Environmental tasks within the SFDP project—such as marine waste management and ecosystem protection—should be linked to global climate finance mechanisms to attract international resources and encourage fishermen to leave old wooden vessels for low-emission aquaculture models.
A synchronized three-front strategy
Viet Nam's greatest challenge is not a lack of resources, but how to mobilize and integrate them. In the coming period, an international cooperation model must be designed across three key fronts:
Lifting the "yellow card" should not be seen as the finish line, but as the starting point for a deeper reform process. By selectively learning from South Korea and leveraging the SFDP project, Viet Nam can reposition its fisheries sector to be more transparent, efficient, and sustainable for future generations.
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Sustainable Fisheries Development Project (SFDP) Total investment: USD 211.57 million (over VND 5 trillion), including World Bank (IBRD) loans, domestic counterpart funding, and mobilized social capital. |
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