Europe is a large and valuable market. However, in October 2017, the European Commission (EC) imposed restrictions on Vietnamese seafood products accessing this market due to violations of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. To date, we have not yet removed this “yellow card”.
Being a key fishing hub at sea, Thanh Hoa’s seafood industry is greatly affected by the trade defense measures applied by the EC. Although the work to resolve the issue in the province has been carried out synchronously, there are still problems that continue to arise, urging faster action.
According to the inspection results of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in February 2024, the work to combat IUU fishing in Thanh Hoa has been slow, some shortcomings and limitations have not been completely overcome. It is worth mentioning that the number of fishing vessels losing connection to the journey monitoring device is still high and occurs frequently. The monitoring of seafood output unloaded through the port is still weak. Law enforcement, verification, and handling of IUU fishing violations are still limited... Responding to the press, Deputy Head of the Thanh Hoa Fisheries Sub-Department Le Van Sang said that the installation of journey monitoring devices in Thanh Hoa is good, but maintaining the operation and strictly implementing the operation of the device is the issue worth discussing. Many vessels have lost signals, including the cause of fishermen losing the signal.
Efforts to combat IUU not only help Vietnamese seafood easily enter the world's largest market, but more importantly, it also enhances national prestige.
To remove the “yellow card” from the EC, in addition to the efforts of authorities at all levels and functional agencies, it requires voluntary compliance from those directly exploiting at sea. Only when the above issues are well resolved in all coastal localities, including Thanh Hoa province, will Vietnamese seafood have hope.
Some Asian countries were also subjected to similar measures by the EC, but it only took a few years to remove the “yellow card”. This is an example for Vietnamese fishermen to look up to and for the authorities to have more determination.
It is expected that in April 2024, the EC inspection team will organize the 5th inspection to consider removing the "yellow card" warning for Vietnamese seafood, in which Thanh Hoa is one of the key localities. This is an opportunity, but also poses a challenge, requiring greater determination to thoroughly resolve the problems. Because, according to press information, in the coming time, the EC will have to focus on a number of important political issues, many things will have to be put aside, including the assessment of IUU. If we cannot convince the EC inspection team in the upcoming inspection, Vietnamese seafood may have to wait a long time to remove the "yellow card".
In Official Dispatch No. 04/CD-UBND dated March 8, 2024, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested directors of relevant departments, branches, units and localities in the province to synchronously and effectively implement solutions to combat IUU fishing. This requires assigning responsibilities to heads of Party committees and authorities at all levels, especially at the commune level, in controlling fishing vessels, assigning officials in charge to each household and fishing vessel owner to propagate, mobilize, deter, prevent and promptly handle cases showing signs of sending vessels and fishermen to illegally exploit seafood in foreign waters. Resolutely handle organizations and individuals who do not fulfill their assigned duties and tasks in performing their official duties, violate the provisions of the law, affecting the country's efforts to remove the "yellow card". The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies and People's Committees of coastal districts, towns and cities to clarify the responsibilities of relevant organizations and individuals for the existence of the shortcomings and limitations as pointed out, and complete the correction in March 2024.
We must realize that this is the final "order" for relevant sectors and localities in Thanh Hoa and the whole country to remove bottlenecks for fisheries, without further delay, so that we can have more serious and drastic participation.
Thai Minh
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