Hanoi, Jan. 14 -- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has ordered the establishment of inter-agency inspection teams to intensify efforts against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing which, he stressed, remains a direct challenge to national credibility, seafood exports and the livelihoods of law-abiding fishermen.

The Government leader made the request in a January 13 official dispatch sent to the ministers of agriculture and environment, national defence, public security, foreign affairs, science and technology, and industry and trade; the Inspector General of the Government Inspectorate; and the heads of the Party Committees and People's Committees of the 22 coastal provinces and cities.

The PM acknowledged progress in the IU...