Hanoi (VNA) – April 23, 2018 marked the deadline of the six-month periodgiven to Vietnam to improve performance in preventing illegal, unreported andunregulated (IUU) fishing under the European Commission (EC)’s yellow cardwarning.

During the period, the Government and the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development (MARD) along with the business community andparties involved in the seafood production chain have taken synchronousmeasures from perfecting the legal framework, tightening the management overfishing vessels, increasing punishments on illegal fishing, and improving theawareness of fishermen and businesses of IUU fishing.

All these activities are aimed at regaining the EC’s greencard and developing sustainable and responsible fisheries, said Nguyen QuangHung, deputy head of the MARD’s Directorate of Fisheries, in an interviewgranted to the Vietnam News Agency.

According to the official, the EC’s yellow card has affectedthe export of Vietnamese seafood. Examinations on material origin wereconducted on all consignments to the EU, which caused a loss of around 7,000EUR per container.

The warning has had negative impact on the prestige of theVietnamese fishery sector as Europe is one of the largest importers ofVietnamese seafood, he added.

Therefore, Vietnam has taken national efforts to have theyellow card removed, which brought about positive outcomes.

Hung noted that there is only one case of illegal fishing byVietnamese fishermen in island states in the Pacific, while 11 other caseshappened in bordering waters that are yet to be delimited between Vietnam andother countries.

The official highlighted the actions taken by the VietnamAssociation of Seafood Exporters and Producers, which has called on enterprisesnot to purchase products exploited illegally, and issued a white book namingviolated fishing vessels so that processors and exporters do not buy thesevessels’ products.

Hung continued by saying that the warning from the EuropeanUnion creates pressure for Vietnam to improve its fishery sector.

All the nine recommendations made by the EC are significantto the sector, he said, adding that the recommendations were put into the Lawon Fisheries which will become effective in January 2019.

The Prime Minister also signed Decision No.78 approving anational action plan on preventing, reducing and eliminating IUU from now to 2025.

For long-term measures, Hung stressed the need to tightenmanagement over fishing vessels, especially those operating offshore, reviewthe development plan for the domestic fishing fleet in alignment with theseafood reserves, and intensify the enforcement of seafood origin and fishingdiary declarations in line with regional and international regulations.

In September 2017, the European Commission issued a yellowcard warning Vietnam for failing to progress in fighting IUU fishing.

After April 23, the EU will assess Vietnam’s efforts tofight IUU fishing. The "yellow card" is followed by a "greencard" if the problem is resolved or a "red card" if it isn’t. A“red card” can lead to a trade ban on fishery products.-VNA