Vietnam would ratify a global treaty on illegal fishing, if approved, anticipating that it would boost seafood exports, said an official of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Nguyen Viet Manh, Deputy Director of the MARD International Cooperation Department, said the treaty is expected to be approved at a FAO World Food Summit in Rome in mid-November, and will go into force 30 days after it is ratified by 25 states.

It will be the first ever global treaty to fight illegal fishing, seeking to shut ports to rogue vessels plundering the seas.

Under the terms of the agreement, foreign vessels will have to request permission in advance to dock at specially designated ports and will have to provide information on their catch.

Signatories will also commit to regularly inspecting fishing vessels in their ports according to a set of international standards.

The treaty commits states to inform other countries when a vessel is denied access to its ports and it obliges the nation whose flag the ship is flying under to take follow-up action./.