U.S. announces US$12.5-million package to support Viet Nam's IUU fishing fight
VGP - U.S. Ambassador to Viet Nam Marc E. Knapper has announced a US$12.5-million package to help Viet Nam boost its maritime law enforcement and combat illegal fishing.
Knapper made that announcement during his meeting with Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien in Phu Quoc Island of the southern province of Kien Giang on December 5.
The package, made possible by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), includes support for Vietnamese maritime law enforcement agencies, including the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Directorate of Fisheries, the Ministry of Public Security, and General Department of Viet Nam Customs, via the donation of small boats, capacity building, and the development of realistic maritime law enforcement training facilities.
Phung expressed thanks to the U.S. support for Viet Nam's fisheries industry through programs, projects, and technical assistance in the field of aquatic resources conservation, especially support for capacity building for Viet Nam fisheries surveillance forces and anti- illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing efforts.
The European Commission (EC) issued a "yellow card" warning against Viet Nam's seafood exports in 2017. Since then, Viet Nam has adopted various various measures at both central and local levels to push back illegal fishing.
Viet Nam earned US$9.2 billion from exporting seafood over the first 11 months of 2024, an 11.5 per cent year-on-year surge. The U.S. market spent US$1.67 billion on Vietnamese seafood in the 11-month period./.
