From Ocean To Plate - Tuna Fishing in Vietnam
Vietnam exports over 1 billion USD of tuna annually - more than half of the tuna eaten worldwide, following huge expansion in the past 20 years. Tuna migration patterns are changing with our warming oceans, moving to deeper, cooler waters further offshore and small vessels must work a long way out to sea to find fish.
Vietnam has a 3,260 km coastline and a large maritime Exclusive Economic Zone of about 1 million square kilometers. The country operates nearly 77,000 fishing vessels, with almost 30,000 working in offshore waters. The offshore fleet includes the yellowfin tuna fishing sector, mainly based in 10 coastal provinces and using purse seine, gillnet, and handline gear. The tuna fleet consists of just over 6,000 vessels, most of which operate offshore. Overall, Vietnam’s fishing industry supports an estimated 600,000 fishers.
With IFFS funding of £37,000, this project is enhancing the safety of 16,000 Vietnamese fishermen at sea by conducting research, improving vessel equipment, raising awareness of sea safety risks by training workshops, a media campaign, providing essential safety training, and establishing safety-compliant fishing fleet models in Vietnam’s small-scale fisheries.
It’s a dangerous job with risks from unpredictable weather, poor safety equipment and lack of training. Fishers have been lost because of weak emergency preparedness and limited compliance with navigation and fire safety standards.
Watch this video to see what dangers the fishers in Vietnam are facing.
In 2025, the Vietnam Tuna Association, with support from the International Fund for Fishing Safety (IFFS), launched a project to improve safety for small-scale tuna fishers.
In 2025, the Vietnam Tuna Association, with support from the International Fund for Fishing Safety (IFFS), launched a project to improve safety for small-scale tuna fishers.
The project distributed 300 life jackets, 300 lifebuoys, and 150 first aid kits, vital fire and life-saving training for 150 captains and crew, and formed self-safety vessel teams with shore-based emergency communications. Awareness campaigns reached 6,000 people.
The project has delivered safety training workshops for over 150 vessel owners and captains, focusing on maritime laws, risk prevention, emergency response, first aid, and communication at sea to help reduce fishing-related accidents.
Shore based communications with the creation of coastal stations equipped with HF long-range communication devices are helping to improve safety in the fleet of small fishing vessels and emergencies of severe weather can be avoided or help can be sent more quickly if an incident occurs.
These initiatives are strengthening emergency response, improving working conditions, and creating a scalable model for safer fishing communities, with expansion planned in 2026.
