Over the past seven years, the European Commission has conducted four inspections on Vietnam’s fight against IUU fishing.
During the inspections, the EC delegation has recognized Vietnam’s positive progress in the fight.
So far, the EC has always highly appreciated Vietnam’s efforts in tackling IUU fishing. Only two key issues remain unresolved: IUU fishing in the foreign waters, and the traceability of fishery products. To completely resolve these problems and have the “yellow card” lifted, it cannot be done overnight. Moreover, it is impossible to impose too strict punishment as it also involves other issues, such as social welfare and the livelihoods of millions of fishermen. The EC itself also understands the difficulties and the dilemma that Vietnam is facing. That’s why they still keep the warning at the “yellow card” level.
Vietnam did make some significant progress lately in terms of reinforcing the legal framework, and increasing attempts to achieve better enforcement. However, the “yellow card” issue still remains partially due to the lack of resources, personnel, and enforcement. The main issue lies with the vessel monitoring system (VMS) device, which requires measures to ensure that, these devices are used effectively and consistently.
The removal of the “yellow card” is seen as a critical and urgent task for Vietnam, as the European Union is one of the largest export markets for Vietnamese seafood.
According to the Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries, since the EC issued a “yellow card” warning for Vietnamese seafood industry in 2017, the value of Vietnam’s seafood exports to the EU market has decreased by an average of 6-10% per year.
The yellow card is a warning signal, not a red card. And so as such, it has no direct effect on restricting market access. It also has no direct financial impact for the Vietnamese exporters. However, it creates increased scrutiny in the European Union, and some complexities for the importers, therefore indirectly making it more challenging for Vietnamese producers. It also brings some uncertainty, as per the evolution of the yellow card and as such, creates a little bit of risk at the importer level.
Experts said, in the upcoming inspection, the EC wants to see more clearly the results of Vietnam’s efforts in combating IUU fishing.
The important thing is that, if the EC sees tangible progress, at least in terms of commitment and law enforcement, it is likely to consider the removal of the “yellow card” for Vietnam./.
