The best effort to remove the IUU "yellow card"

On August 29, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang chaired an online conference of the National Steering Committee on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU) with 28 coastal provinces and cities to promote solutions to combat IUU.

The conference was held in the context that in just over a month Vietnam will welcome the fourth European Commission (EC) delegation to inspect and examine the fight against IUU fishing in Vietnam.

Being warned of a "yellow card" not only increases the time, effort, and cost of strictly managing records when exporting seafood to the EU, but also damages Vietnam's reputation.

According to estimates by 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.

Not only will it lose market share, but if it is given a "red card" it 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.

In addition to the EU, some other countries such as the US also have similar regulations on combating IUU. If Vietnam is given a "red card", these countries can also apply similar measures to Vietnam's seafood exports.

In just over a month, Vietnam will welcome the fourth European Commission (EC) delegation to inspect and examine the fight against IUU fishing in Vietnam (Photo: VGP).

To remove the "yellow card", leaders of ministries, sectors and localities attending the meeting 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.

Ministries, sectors and localities all emphasized the need to investigate, verify and strictly and thoroughly handle organizations and individuals who conduct illegal business, legalize documents, assist and condone IUU behavior.

The leaders of the Fisheries Control Department proposed that businesses that are members of VASEP continue to join hands with the Government in implementing regulations on IUU, not purchasing, processing, or exporting aquatic products whose sources violate IUU regulations.

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.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang concluded the conference (Photo: VGP).

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 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, with the goal of not allowing any fishing boats to be arrested abroad.

The Ministry of Public Security urgently consolidates records and prosecutes cases of brokerage and collusion to bring Vietnamese fishing boats 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.

Appreciating the role of news agencies and newspapers, the Deputy Prime Minister hopes that news agencies and newspapers will step up propaganda on combating IUU fishing by reminding and warning, and that any violations must be strictly handled .

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/pho-thu-tuong-no-luc-cao-nhat-de-go-duoc-the-vang-iuu-a623999.html