The Vietnamese government has temporarily suspended the enforcement of minimum size regulations for several key marine species, including various types of tuna, following calls from local fishermen to abolish the regulation.
The minimum size rules, which were instituted in early 2024, were part of a broader effort by Vietnam to enhance marine resource protection and combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing – a campaign that intensified after the European Commission issued Vietnam a yellow card warning in 2017.
The regulations, particularly a 500-millimeter minimum size for commercially crucial skipjack tuna, placed significant pressure on local fishermen and processing companies. For instance, when the regulations were implemented, industry groups, including the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), warned that the majority of the skipjack caught by local vessels would fall below the new minimum size, forcing fishermen to cancel trips and causing shortages for processors.
Besides skipjack, the regulations applied to the minimum catch size for a range of species found in Vietnam’s waters, including yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, frigate tuna, eastern little tuna, bullet tuna, largehead hairtail, gilt sardine, hardwicke's shrimp, and squid.
The new decree, which formalizes the suspension of the size limits, took effect on 29 November.
In response, VASEP hailed the decree as "good news for Vietnamese seafood companies" and called the suspension of the size requirements a major step toward resolving the industry's difficulties.
Local fishermen have also welcomed the temporary suspension with relief, describing the decision as "removing a yoke" from their industry.
With the constraint removed, fishermen are now preparing to return to work instead of abandoning their vessels, anticipating profitability as they enter the peak skipjack season, the newspaper released under Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment reported.
“January 2026 will be the main season for catching [skipjack] tuna. At this time, the regulations on the size of [skipjack] that can be caught will no longer apply. Surely, fishermen using purse seine nets will make a profit. Everyone will take their boats out to sea to catch fish instead of abandoning them at sea like in the past,” fisherman Huynh Chanh Thi told the newspaper.
