Hanoi (VNA) – Considerable efforts have been made by the entire politicalsystem, sectors and localities to fight illegal,unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing as required by the European Commission.

The European Commission (EC)’s "yellow card"warning for IUU fishing on October 23, 2017 changed the perception of all sectorand local authorities, fishermen and enterprises on marine economic developmentin line with international practices.

Vietnamhas achieved great strides in the work and all relevant recommendations of theEC have been legalised through the adoption of the amended Law on Fisheries.

The law regulates quotas for the first time for the fishing of migratory fish species. It also prohibits illegal fishingoutside Vietnam's waters.

Inaddition, for imported raw materials, enterprises must also comply withrequirements on food safety and hygiene control and complete documentation oforigin of imported raw materials.

Many documents have beenissued with the support of experts from the EU.

Acting Director General of Directorate of Fisheries Nguyen Ngoc Oai said the agency is directingcoastal localities to complete the installation of satellite-positioning devices for all offshore fishing shipslonger than 24 metres.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has also signed a regulationwith the Ministry of Defence to control offshore fishing vessels, while coordinatingwith international organisations in the fight against illegal fishing, Oainoted.

To date, fishing vessels’ violation of waters of Pacific island nations havealmost ceased, Oai said, adding that the inspection of offshore fishing ships hasalso been effective.

Statisticsfrom the Vietnam Association of SeafoodExporters and Producers (VASEP) show 62 Vietnamese enterprisesnationwide have signed commitments to combat illegal fishing and exploitationand implement relevant regulations to enable their products to be exported to Europe.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong affirmedVietnam is determined to overcome the “yellow card", towards forming sustainableand responsible fishing.

The minister underlined the need to change fishing practices to responsibleexploitation and overcome infrastructure facilities inadequacies in theindustry.

It is also necessary to reorganise production, focusing on processing and restructuringashore jobs, thus developing a sustainable maritime economy, he said.

At a recent working session between an EC delegation with the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development, the EC affirmed its willingness to shareexperience with Vietnam in building legal documents, plans and measures tocombat IUU fishing.

The EC issued a yellow card warning to Vietnamlast year, after the country failed to demonstrate sufficient progress in thefight against IUU fishing worldwide. While the measure was only considereda warning, which should not technically affect the EC’s trade policy, theVietnamese fishing industry was concerned the yellow card would seriously harmthe reputation of Vietnamese seafood. 

According to EC requirements, the Vietnamese seafood sectorhad to implement nine recommendations from October 23, 2017 through untilApril 23, 2018.

The nine recommendations included revisions ofthe legal framework to ensure compliance with international and regional rules,applicable to the conservation and management of fisheries resources; ensuringthe effective implementation and enforcement of the country’s revised laws; andstrengthening the implementation of international rules and managementmeasures.

The EC also wanted Vietnam to issue sanctionsand increase the level of sanctions against IUU fishing, which should bewritten in the revised Law on Fisheries, and give concrete evidence provingVietnam’s efforts in the fight against IUU fishing.

A working delegation of the European Commission (EC)’sDirectorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries made a fact-finding tripto Vietnam late May to inspect the implementation of recommendations related tothe fight against IUU fishing.

EC officials will return to Vietnam in January 2019 to evaluate once morebefore considering the removal of the “yellow card”.-VNA