Hanoi (VNA) - A working delegation from theEuropean Commission’s (EC) Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs andFisheries will visit Vietnam from May 16 to 23.

The delegation will inspect the country’simplementation of the EC’s nine recommendations related to the fight againstillegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Minister ofAgriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Nguyen Xuan Cuong have guided theDirectorate of Fisheries and 28 coastal cities and provinces over receiving theEC delegation.

The Directorate of Fisheries has sent a documentto urge and direct 28 localities, as well as associations and businesses tocomplete dossiers on the fight against IUU fishing before April 23.

After the inspection, the EU will give its finaldecision over whether it seeks to withdraw the “yellow card” from Vietnameseoffshore seafood.

On October 23, 2017, the EC issued a "yellowcard" warning to Vietnam, after the country failed to demonstratesufficient progress in the fight against fishing worldwide. Though the measurewas considered a warning, which would not technically affect the EC tradepolicy, the Vietnamese fishing industry was concerned that the yellow cardwould seriously harm the reputation of Vietnamese seafood worldwide, thusweakening sales.

[Vietnam works toward﷽s sustainable, responsible fisheries]

To address IUU fishing activities, the ECevaluates exporting countries. Countries that fail to meet the EC’s standardsare issued a warning ("yellow card"), followed by a "greencard" if issues are resolved or a "red card" if they aren’t. Ared card can lead to a trade ban on fishery products.

According to EC’s requirement, the Vietnameseseafood sector had to implement nine recommendations in six months from October23, 2017, to April 23, 2018.

Deputy Minister of MARD Ha Cong Tuan said the ninerecommendations included revision of the legal framework to ensure compliancewith international and regional rules applicable to the conservation andmanagement of fisheries resources, ensuring the effective implementation andenforcement of the country’s revised laws, and strengthening the effectiveimplementation of international rules and management measures.

The EC also wanted Vietnam to issue sanctions andincrease the level of sanctions against IUU fishing, which should be written inthe revised Law on Fisheries, and give concrete evidence proving Vietnam’sefforts in the fight against IUU fishing.

Nguyen Thi Trang Nhung, Deputy Director of theDepartment of Science, Technology and International Cooperation under MARD,said efforts of the entire political system of Vietnam had resulted innoticeable advances in the certification of seafood origins and control offishing boats’ activities.

Speaking at Seafood Expo Global in Belgium onApril 25, which aimed to update the media and European seafood importers onmeasures Vietnam was taking to combat IUU fishing, Nhung said as the yellowcard can affect the prestige and trade of Vietnamese seafood in the Europeanand global markets, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers(VASEP) as well as businesses have made every effort over the last six monthsto co-operate with authorised agencies and with one another to fight IUUfishing.

Le Hang, a representative of VASEP, said theassociation had been regularly updating the list of fisheries businessescommitted to IUU fishing prevention on its website in both English andVietnamese, thus showing Vietnamese firms’ consensus and determination to EUimporters and managerial agencies.

She noted that after the EU issued the yellow cardwarning, seafood exports to the Vietnamese market had declined as importersbecame more cautious and worried that tightened examination of imports couldcost them more money and time.-VNA