Fisheries-Related Crimes (FRC) pose a significant threat to any country’s national security, with illicit activities often concealed within the expansive and seemingly innocuous domain of fishing vessels. This paper explores the need to strengthen port inspection protocols to counteract illegal activities utilizing fishing vessels as conduits. The fishing vessel Inspection Criteria (ICs) were developed based on port inspection features and relevant literature. The Best-Worse Method (BWM) is then used to weigh those ICs, creating a new inspection checklist. Finally, based on the checklist, an improved inspection procedure is proposed. The results may provide government authorities and policymakers with practical information on effectively and efficiently conducting port security inspections on fishing vessels and preventing FRCs.