Uploaded November 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Vietnam has one of the fastest growing fishing fleets in the world – increasing in size by over 160% between 1990 and 2018. This explosion in the number of fishing vessels has led to massive overfishing and rapid depletion of fish populations.
The crisis in Vietnam’s fisheries has been ‘exported’ as fishing vessels increasingly venture beyond Vietnam’s waters in search of viable fish populations. Vessel captains spoke of how they were often encouraged by owners to fish in neighbouring countries’ waters and would openly discuss their upcoming trips to Thailand among the crew.
This rampant illegal fishing is being facilitated by child labour. EJF found that 7 out of 41 vessels studied had a child on board. Some were as young as 11.
Vietnam has one of the fastest growing fishing fleets in the world – increasing in size by over 160% between 1990 and 2018. This explosion in the number of fishing vessels has led to massive overfishing and rapid depletion of fish populations.
The crisis in Vietnam’s fisheries has been ‘exported’ as fishing vessels increasingly venture beyond Vietnam’s waters in search of viable fish populations. Vessel captains spoke of how they were often encouraged by owners to fish in neighbouring countries’ waters and would openly discuss their upcoming trips to Thailand among the crew.
This rampant illegal fishing is being facilitated by child labour. EJF found that 7 out of 41 vessels studied had a child on board. Some were as young as 11.
