If Vietnam gets the IUU 'red card', seafood exports to the EU will be out of the question

Risk of ban on seafood exports to EU

On the morning of August 29, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang chaired a conference to promote solutions to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

According to the report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the situation of combating IUU fishing after more than 6 years of being warned with a "yellow card" has had significant changes in the management of fishing activities and combating IUU fishing.

Through the results of direct work with DG-MARE on the recommendations of the European Commission (EC) Inspection Team at the third inspection, the EC continued to acknowledge and highly appreciate Vietnam's efforts in combating IUU fishing, some contents have implemented solutions and have timely updated and exchanged results.

However, after the third inspection, the results of implementing EC recommendations as well as implementing tasks and solutions under the direction of the Prime Minister, Head of the National Steering Committee on IUU, still have many shortcomings and limitations that are slow to be overcome in practice at the local level.

Fishing vessel management still has many shortcomings (Photo: Xuan Ngoc).

Up to now, we have not yet completed the registration of fishing vessels and issuance of fishing licenses; updating fishing vessel data into the national fisheries database (VNFishbase) is incomplete.

Meanwhile, the situation of fishing vessels not meeting the conditions still participating in fishing activities continues to occur. The installation of VMS equipment has reached nearly 100%, but the situation of fishing vessels disconnecting from VMS is common and occurs in large numbers.

Fishing vessels frequently operate in the wrong areas and cross maritime boundaries detected through the Fishing Vessel Monitoring System, but verification and handling are very limited when vessels dock; the situation of fishing vessels not docking at designated ports as prescribed still occurs frequently; the rate of monitoring aquatic product output through ports is still low...

According to estimates from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), if given a "red card", Vietnam will be banned from exporting exploited seafood to the EU market with a total value of nearly 500 million USD/year.

It is worth mentioning that when we are given a “red card”, we will not only lose market share but will also affect the jobs of 60 factories exporting to the EU market as well as honest fishermen, and at the same time affect the country's efforts to build a modern fishing industry.

Prosecution of cases of collusion and illegal exploitation of seafood

In addition to the EU, several other countries such as the US and Japan have similar regulations against IUU fishing. If Vietnam is given a “red card”, these countries may also apply similar measures to Vietnam’s seafood exports, VASEP said.

To remove the IUU yellow card, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed that Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang direct relevant ministries, branches and localities to carry out a series of urgent and key tasks and solutions in the coming time.

At the conference, ministries and localities said that there needs to be closer coordination between functional forces and localities in managing and preventing fishing vessels from violating foreign waters; strengthening information and propaganda work; and strictly punishing violations.

In addition, it is necessary to investigate, verify, and strictly and thoroughly handle organizations and individuals who conduct illegal business, legalize documents, assist, and condone IUU behavior.

Concluding the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang frankly stated that the EC's "yellow card" warning has seriously damaged Vietnam's reputation, and pointed out that the seafood industry may face similar risks to the "yellow card" in other markets outside the EU.

The Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to develop a plan that clearly states the tasks that need to be focused on from now until the EC inspection team arrives to work; to prepare carefully to welcome the EC inspection team to achieve the best results, and soon remove the EC's yellow card warning.

The Ministry of National Defense directed functional forces to increase patrols and controls, aiming to prevent any fishing vessels from being caught abroad. The Ministry of Public Security urgently consolidated records and prosecuted cases of brokerage and collusion to bring Vietnamese fishing vessels and fishermen to illegally exploit in foreign waters.

Regarding localities, the Deputy Prime Minister assessed that the determination was not uniform. There were localities that managed fishing vessels entering and leaving ports well and improved the traceability rate of exploited seafood such as Ca Mau, but there were also localities that were not determined in handling the recommendations of the EC inspection team.

Peace of Mind

Minister Le Minh Hoan: Focus on handling violations to remove the 'IUU yellow card' It has been 6 years since the EC issued the IUU yellow card warning to Vietnamese seafood but it has not been removed. Therefore, Minister Le Minh Hoan requested to focus on handling IUU violations.

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