In response to the petition of voters in Binh Dinh and Khanh Hoa regarding regulations on the size of skipjack tuna exploitation, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan said it would be completed in April 2025.
The proportion of skipjack tuna that meet the criteria of 50cm or more accounts for a very small proportion in current fishing trips of fishermen - Photo: MINH CHIEN
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan has just signed an official dispatch responding to the petition of voters of Binh Dinh and Khanh Hoa provinces regarding regulations on the size of skipjack tuna exploitation.
EU, US, Australia,... do not have regulations on the size of skipjack tuna exploitation.
Accordingly, Binh Dinh voters agree with the regulation on the minimum size allowed to be exploited for aquatic species living in natural waters to protect sustainable aquatic resources according to Decree No. 37-2024 of the Government on amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 26-2019 detailing a number of articles and measures to implement the Law on Fisheries (referred to as Decree 37-2024).
However, voters said that in reality, skipjack tuna with a length of 500mm or more is very rare, most are from 300 - 350mm, and this is a migratory fish species that does not only live in Vietnam's waters.
Voters recommend that the Ministry submit to the Government for careful consideration and assessment of regulations on skipjack tuna fishing to ensure convenience for fishermen's seafood fishing activities.
Voters in Khanh Hoa province said that many fishing boats are currently stranded because their products do not meet the required size. Due to barriers, they are only sold to the domestic market, so the price of the products has decreased by about 30% compared to before, leading to losses on sea trips.
There is a risk that a portion of fishermen in the Central region will stop going to sea. In the long run, this will not only cause a shortage of raw materials for production and export but also affect the work of protecting the sacred sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland.
Voters suggested that the Ministry study and revise Decree 37-2024 to suit reality because currently no country, including the EU, the US, Australia or the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Organization (WCPFC) of the United Nations, has regulations or recommendations on minimum catch size for skipjack tuna.
Even the EU itself does not have regulations on minimum catch size for skipjack tuna, fishing vessels from Spain and other EU countries still catch skipjack tuna under 1kg.
Complete the revision in April 2025
In response to the above proposal, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the current status of aquatic resources reserves in Vietnam in recent years has tended to decline very seriously in both quantity and quality due to overexploitation, exploitation with prohibited fishing gear, mesh size smaller than regulations,...
Therefore, Vietnam's regulations on the exploitation size of seafood species are consistent with the advanced fisheries management trend of countries in the region and the world to maintain and protect aquatic resources.
However, for tuna species, this is the first time it has been applied according to the 2017 Fisheries Law, so the implementation process still faces difficulties and obstacles for fishermen, businesses and local fisheries management units.
The reason is that most fishermen have been used to exploiting in the traditional way for many years, exploiting all young and immature individuals, so they have not had time to adapt and change their methods and fishing gear to suit the new regulations.
The process of amending and supplementing Decree 37-2024 of the Government is short-lived, so there have not been specific and complete assessments of the impact on fishermen and businesses regarding the regulations on the size of exploitation of aquatic species and mixing of raw materials.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development affirmed that the review results showed that the regulation of the minimum size allowed for exploitation, including skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), as stipulated in Decree 37-2024 is necessary, ensuring sufficient legal basis, scientific and practical basis with the aim of protecting aquatic resources and meeting the requirements and recommendations of the European Commission (EC).
However, in the process of practical implementation, there have been difficulties and problems in applying it at the present time.
Therefore, to ensure the goal of protecting aquatic resources, meeting the requirements of the EC, and ensuring that it does not affect the traditional exploitation activities of fishermen and the export activities of enterprises, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is reporting and recommending to the Prime Minister to allow the development of a revised Decree according to a simplified order and procedure to promptly remove obstacles for organizations, individuals and enterprises in the exploitation sector.
As planned, the issuance of the amended Decree will be completed in April 2025.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bo-truong-le-minh-hoan-tra-loi-kien-nghi-ve-sua-quy-dinh-kich-thuoc-khai-thac-ca-ngu-van-20250201145536107.htm
Comment (0)