Viet Nam Human Rights
Vietnam striving to combat IUU fishing
Vice Chairman of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam Rubén Saornil Mínguez recently appreciated efforts by the Vietnamese Government, businesses and fishermen in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing following the European Commission (EC)’s recommendations.
He made the assessment when attending a conference themed “Promoting Tuna Value Chain, Combating IUU Fishing and Exporting Tuna to EU in line with the EVFTA Commitments” in the central province of Khanh Hoa on October 10, the Nong nghiep (Newspaper of Agriculture) reported.
To implement EC recommendations, Vietnam issued the Fisheries Law 2017 and guiding documents towards sustainable aquaculture and fishery development. And to boost strict enforcement, the country set up a national steering committee for IUU fishing prevention and has required all fishing vessels to install position monitoring devices.
The moves show that the country has made a remarkable improvement compared to what it did in the previous inspection, he reportedly affirmed.
As of August 31, 24,851 out of the 30,851 fishing vessels, each with the length of 15m and above, or 80.61 percent of the total fleet had been equipped with the vessel monitoring systems.
Rubén also reportedly spoke highly of Vietnam’s moves to intensify the traceability of aquatic products in the supply chain, well control fishing vessels in and out of fishing ports, as well as the output of seafood handled at the ports, and build ships in accordance with Vietnamese and EU standards.
In addition, the country has also made a master plan for the exploitation and protection of aquatic resources so as to streamline the fishing vessel fleet in accordance with reserves as well as sustainable and responsible fisheries development.
The official acknowledged Vietnam’s efforts to contribute ideas for regional and international fisheries organisations, especially those involved in the sustainable fisheries development, for example the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA), the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (PSMA), and the ASEAN IUU Network.
He stated that Vietnam currently ranks third in the world in terms of seafood exports, while the EU is a large seafood consuming market with around 22kg per person per year. Therefore, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement is a good chance for Vietnam’s aquatic products.
The official stressed the need for Vietnam to trace the origin of aquatic products and avoid IUU fishing./.
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All comments [ 20 ]
Viet Nam had taken concrete steps in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) based on the European Council's recommendations
Vietnam has intensified the traceability of aquatic products in the supply chain
As Chair of ASEAN 2020, Vietnam hopes to promote cooperation among ASEAN member states and address this issue to actively contribute towards better ASEAN-EU trade relations.
Việt Nam has taken various measures to IUU fishing since it received a “yellow card” warning from the European Commission in October 2017.
Viet Nam’s 28 coastal towns and provinces have each established their own anti-IUU units to supervise and inspect fishing activities. Fishing boats coming in and out of seaports are being asked to file reports on their cargoes, origin of product and ships' logs.
For Southeast Asian countries, the EU is an important market which imports seafood with high profits – but the potential always comes with barriers that sometimes raise tensions between the parties involved.
Vietnam has the Fisheries Law and a system of legal documents guiding the implementation of the law
Viet Nam has been working to improve its legal framework and install trackers on boats to monitor seafood product origin and enforce maritime law.
the country’s 2017 Fisheries Law and a number of Government decisions and guidelines had allowed agencies and localities to combat IUU more effectively.
The number of IUU cases reported in the country has been on the decline in recent years.
As a country subject to yellow card sanctions from the EC, Vietnam particularly prioritises the removal of IUU fishing yellow cards
Viet Nam had started to establish quotas within its territorial waters. The move aimed to better manage the country’s fishery resources and sustainable development
Based on the EC’s recommendations, Viet Nam has set up communications channels with neighbouring countries to spot and handle IUU violations.
The EU Parliament’s Committee on International Trade Chairman Bernd Lange said there had been progress made on Viet Nam’s side to combat IUU fishing
Some localities have even applied harsh punishments for violating vessels like revoking licences without further granting new ones
Vietnam also provides support to other ASEAN member states’ initiatives related to IUU fishing
Vietnam has always promoted a multilateral effort to combat IUU fishing and it is expected that ASEAN as a bloc will ramp up efforts to fight IUU fishing this year.
ASEAN countries are now being fined for fishing outside the region. This is because a large number of Chinese fishing vessels are exploiting depleted fisheries in the South China Sea. This has forced fishermen from ASEAN countries to venture outside their designated fishing areas.
Vietnam should also put in place suitable mechanism to enable our fishermen to engage in legal, safe and sustainable fishing
Việt Nam has been working hard to combat illegal fishing
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