Viet Nam Human Rights
Vietnam on right track to lift EC’s yellow card
16/9/19
Vietnam
has carried out comprehensive measures as recommended by the European
Commission (EC) to remove a “yellow card” warning from the
commission on Vietnamese seafood, according to Deputy General Director of
the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development’s Directorate of Fisheries Nguyen
Quang Hung.
A
national steering board on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing
prevention and control was established to facilitate direction from central- to
local-level authorities, he said, stressing 28 coastal cities and provinces
have also established inspection groups at fishing ports, and implemented
decrees and circulars related to the Fisheries Law in 2017, as well as measures
to fight against illegal fishing.
Hung
added the moves have resulted in a better control of local fishing vessels
while facilitating the traceability of seafood products.
Most
recently, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung asked the Ministry of Defence
to work with competent ministries and sectors to outline measures aimed at
preventing and eliminating illegal fishing in foreign waters. In fact, there is
no vessel trespassing into waters of Pacific Ocean countries. However, many
ships still fish in unidentified and overlapping waters with Cambodia,
Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Hung
underlined that his ministry and the directorate have intensified negotiations
with the EC so that it can thoroughly see Vietnam’s efforts in handling IUU
fishing in the past time.
As
suggested by the EC, Vietnam has worked to complete the revision of the legal
framework to ensure compliance with international and regional rules applied to
the conservation and management of fisheries resources. Meanwhile, the
Fisheries Law lays important foundation for the effective law enforcement at
sea.
Regarding
international cooperation, Vietnam has boosted collaboration with regional
countries, and set up hot lines to settle sea-related issues. Besides, Vietnam
has proactively attended international forums to enhance fisheries cooperation
and exchange experience in IUU prevention.
In
a bid to meet EC’s requirement on sustainable fisheries exploitation, the
Southeast Asian country has set fishing quota for coastal areas, onshore area
and offshore area.
Hailing
efforts by localities to remove the “yellow card”, Hung said the coastal cities
and provinces have issued documents and promote communications on the Prime
Minister’s plan as well as the agriculture ministry’s direction to raise
fishermen’s awareness of sustainable fisheries exploitation and IUU fishing.
The
localities will complete the installation of voyage supervision equipment for
fishing vessels to better manage the local fishing fleet.
Touching
on measures to lift “yellow card”
warning on Vietnamese
seafood, Hung said that the Government should map re-planning for
fisheries sector and fishing port system, and increase investment in fishing
port infrastructure.
He
laid a special stress on the importance of improving local fishermen’s
awareness of IUU fishing, saying localities should further communications work
and mobilise fishermen to abide by legal regulations./.
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All comments [ 18 ]
The Defence Ministry has employed drastic measures to prevent and curb illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities in line with its assigned functions and tasks.
The bilateral ties have seen positive and strategic development in recent time, thus strengthening the EU-ASEAN partnership and making significant contributions to regional peace and stability.
The Mekong Delta provinces like Kien Giang, Cà Màu, etc have made various efforts to crack down illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing as instructed by the European Commission.
The Ministry of Information and Communications has coordinated with distric administrations and local media to increase public awareness of the issue and campaign fishermen to comply with the 2017 Law on Fisheries and regulations against IUU fishing.
Bravo Vietnam! Let's do it.
It's reported that the border guard, coast guard and naval forces had approached 1,310 vessels at sea to educate them on IUU and distributed leaflets on the matter to 22,000 fishing vessels.
Local authorities have provided education and training on IUU fishing prevention rules for fishermen, ship owners, captains and crews at fishing ports and villages.
The Defence Ministry’s forces coordinated with local authorities to verify information on 187 cases involving 336 Vietnamese ships and 2,430 fishermen seized by foreign authorities.
A list of fishing ships and ship owners that violate regulations related to the EC’s warning on IUU fishing is publicised monthly. Recidivists are not allowed to fish or build new ships, and do not enjoy the State’s support policies.
There should be a green card now. The "yellow card" is followed by a "green card" if issues are resolved or a "red card" if they aren’t. A “red card” can lead to a trade ban on fishery products.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has asked 28 coastal localities to strictly follow the Prime Minister’s dispatch and directive related to IUU fishing, and to intensify inspections and investigations on IUU fishing to stop IUU fishing in foreign waters.
The two sides have effectively carried out a wide range of cooperation mechanisms, including the joint committee under the EU-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation Framework Agreement (PCA) and the EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue.
The navy and coastal guard force have set up hotlines with their counterparts in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia for the exchange of maritime information, helping with the quick settlement cases related to fishing ships and fishermen.
According to EC requirements, the Vietnamese seafood sector had to implement nine recommendations, including revisions of the legal framework to ensure compliance with international and regional rules, applicable to the conservation and management of fisheries resources; ensuring the enforcement of the country’s revised laws; and strengthening implementation of international rules and management measures.
The central province of Khanh Hoa has been implementing various measures to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, as recommended by the European Commission.
The EC also wanted Vietnam to issue sanctions against IUU fishing, which should be written in the revised Law on Fisheries, and give concrete evidence proving Vietnam’s efforts in the fight against IUU fishing.
We recommended the EU to continue assisting Vietnam in implementing measures to remove the “yellow card” warning on Vietnamese seafood and fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
An EC working delegation will visit Vietnam in early November to inspect the country’s implementation of the recommendations, with Khanh Hoa predicted to be among its destinations.
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