Processing Tra fish for export (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Localities need to take stronger actionsto counter the European Commission’s illegal,unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU) yellow card warning, said DeputyMinister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien.
Speaking at a conference held by the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (MARD) in Hanoi on April 24, Tien said that as per results ofinspections, localities nationwide had not yet implemented drastic enough measuresto deal with the yellow card.
Storm shelter infrastructure for ships has not met requirements, while the upgradingof fishing ports and fishery logistics has not received adequate attention, humanresources for fisheries management are not sufficient, and the rate of shipskeeping fishing records as required reached only 21.2 percent, he said.
This resulted in the traceability of caught seafood falling short of ECrequirements, he noted.
Deputy Director of the Directorate of Fisheries Nguyen Quang Hung underlinedthe necessity to raise awareness of fisheries management agencies at all levelsand fishing communities towards combating IUU.
EC recommendations have been integrated into the Law on Fisheries 2017 and documents guiding the law of theGovernment and the MARD, Hung said.
The violation of fishing vessels on the waters of Pacific Island countries has almostceased, while the inspection and control of fishing vessels operating on thesea has made progress, he said.
However, he noted that violations have not been handled strictly according tothe direction of the Government and the Prime Minister, with law enforcement toprevent Vietnamese fishing vessels from exploit illegally seafood in foreign watersproving to be ineffective.
In addition, fishing vessels violating rules in foreign waters is still a complicatedissue, fishing vessel monitoring systems have not yet met requirements, controlover fishing vessels entering and leaving ports is weak, and the certification ofaquatic products remains limited with many mistakes, he added.
Hung informed that around the end of May to early June 2019, an inspectiondelegation from the EC’s Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) will begin a fact-finding trip to Vietnam to inspectthe implementation of recommendations related to the fight against IUU fishing.
He urged relevant ministries and sectorsnationwide, and authorities of 28 coastal localities to make more efforts and mobiliseresources to effectively implement the work.
On October 23, 2017, the EC issued a "yellow card" warning toVietnam, after the country failed to demonstrate sufficient progress in thefight against IUU fishing.
Countries that fail to meet EC standards aregiven a "yellow card", followed by a "green card" if theproblems are resolved, or a "red card" if they are not. A red cardcan lead to a trade ban on fishery products.
According to EC requirements, the Vietnameseseafood sector had to implement nine recommendations, included revisions of thelegal 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 effective implementation of international rules andmanagement measures.
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. –VNA
VNA
