Viet Nam doubles effort to remove IUU yellow card
VGP - Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang has asked for making greater efforts in combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in a bid to soon remove "yellow card" warning against seafood exports.
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang at the teleconference with 28 coastal localities on solutions to fight illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and in preparations for the EC’s fourth inspection in October, Ha Noi August 28, 2023 - Photo: VGP/Hai Minh
Tran made the above request at a teleconference with 28 coastal localities on promoting solutions to deal with IUU fishing.
He said that the European Commission's "yellow card" warning not only increases the time, effort, and costs of managing the documentation when exporting aquatic products to the EU but also undermines Viet Nam's prestige.
Viet Nam has focused on implementing the EC's recommendations to strengthen the country's legal framework and capacity to monitor its vessels and to track product origin.
The Deputy Prime Minister tasked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to craft a plan on specific missions to early remove the yellow card warning.
The Ministry of National Defense was assigned to strengthen patrols to stop vessels from fishing illegally in foreign waters.
The Deputy Prime Minister also underlined the importance of strictly complying with the EC’s recommendations.
“Local authorities must uphold the highest responsibilities and take drastic solutions to put an end to IUU fishing,” he said.
The National Steering Committee on IUU fishing prevention reported that since the EC's recommendation on reducing the number of fishing vessels and fishing intensity, the MARD suggested the Prime Minister direct localities to review the entire number of fishing vessels, update fishing vessel data into the national fishery database VNFishbase. So far, 31 provinces and cities with 71,658 ships have so far updated their database on the VNFishbase.
About 97.8 percent of fishing vessels with a length of 15m or more have been equipped with a vessel monitoring system (VMS).
Since the fourth quarter of 2022, law enforcement forces have detected 11 cases and seized 13 fishing boats, and 115 VMS devices fishing illegally in the wrong area or in foreign waters.
The Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) estimated that if slapped with a "red card," Viet Nam could face a ban on exporting exploited seafood to the EU, amounting to a total value of nearly US$500 million annually.
Apart from losing market share, a "red card" penalty would also affect the livelihoods of workers in the 60 factories engaged in exporting to the EU, as well as legitimate fishermen. It would also impact the nation's efforts in building a modern fishing industry./.
