Hanoi (VNA) - There are no longerfishing boats that have committed illegal catching since the beginning of 2018,heard a conference held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development(MARD) on May 5.

Chaired by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam, theevent was to prepare for working sessions with adelegation from the European Commission’s (EC) Directorate-General for MaritimeAffairs and Fisheries, which will visit Vietnam from May 16-23 to inspect thecountry’s implementation of the EC’s nine recommendations related to the fightagainst illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Tam said after the ECissued a “yellow card” warning to Vietnam, the MARD has proposed amendments tothe revised Law on Fisheries that will come into effect in 2019; and issued a circular banning illegalfishing.

Local authorities have also managed more closely offshore fishing boats and upgradedfishing ports to meet the EC’s standards, he added.

Through its planned fieldtrip, the EC delegation will observe the time of unloading of foreigntransport refrigerated ships at Vietnamese ports, and have technical workingsessions with the Vietnamese side on imported seafood materials.

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 "yellow card" warning to Vietnam, after the countryfailed to demonstrate sufficient progress in the fight against fishingworldwide. Though the measure was considered a warning, which would nottechnically affect the EC trade policy, the Vietnamese fishing industry wasconcerned that the yellow card would seriously harm the reputation ofVietnamese seafood worldwide, thus weakening sales. 

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

The nine recommendationsincluded revision of the legal framework to ensure compliance withinternational and regional rules applicable to the conservation and managementof fisheries resources, ensuring the effective implementation and enforcementof the country’s revised laws, and strengthening the effective implementationof international rules and management measures.

As the yellow cardcould affect the prestige and trade of Vietnamese seafood in the European andglobal markets, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers(VASEP) and businesses have also made every effort to cooperate with authorisedagencies and with one another to fight IUU fishing over the last six months.

The association has regularly updated the list of fisheries businesses committingto IUU fishing prevention on its website in both English and Vietnamese, thusshowing Vietnamese firms’ consensus and determination to EU importers andmanagerial agencies.

On April 20, Vietnamsubmitted a report on its efforts to address IUU fishing to the EC. The delegation’supcoming inspection is to assess local IUU fishing prevention.-VNA