Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has issued a circular, introducing new regulations aimed at easing administrative procedures for businesses, standardizing certification for seafood exports to the United States, improving traceability of wild-caught seafood, and enhancing the management of fishing port infrastructure.
A key feature of the circular is the establishment of detailed requirements for obtaining Certificates of Admissibility (COA) for seafood exports to the US. Documentation requirements are clearly differentiated according to the source of raw materials, including domestically harvested seafood, imported seafood, and aquaculture products.
The certification process will include strict verification against the list of species prohibited from entering the US market and the list of countries recognized by US authorities as having equivalent fisheries management systems. Exporters are also required to retain supporting documents proving product origin for at least 36 months and maintain traceability systems capable of meeting regulatory inspection requirements.
The circular also places a strong emphasis on digital transformation in fisheries management through the phased introduction of electronic traceability and fishing logbook systems.
Under the implementation roadmap, electronic management of fishing vessels entering and leaving ports, along with the issuance of unloading receipts, have been applied from March 1, 2026; while electronic issuance of raw material certification documents will begin on September 1, 2026, and electronic certificates of origin will be adopted from January 1, 2027.
Electronic fishing logbooks will become mandatory from June 1, 2027 for fishing vessels measuring 15 meters or longer, and from September 1, 2027 for vessels 12 meters or longer.
The Circular will officially take effect on September 19, 2026.
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