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Representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development,
VASEP and the Vietnamese Embassy in Belgium hold a press conference
at the Seafood Expo Global on April 25 to update on Vietnam's efforts to
fight IUU fishing (Photo: VNA)
The April 25 event aimed to update the press and European seafood importers on
measures Vietnam is taking to combat IUU fishing, a problem on which the
European Commission (EC) issued a yellow card warning to Vietnam last September.
Nguyen Thi Trang Nhung, Deputy Director of the Department of Science, Technology
and International Cooperation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development, said Vietnam has obtained positive outcomes in the issue.
The most important outcome is the Law on Fisheries, approved on November 21,
2017, which details IUU fishing activities and stipulates strict punishments
compared to administrative penalties for violations in other fields.
Efforts of the whole political system of Vietnam have resulted in observable
advances in the certification of seafood origin and control of fishing boats’
activities, she added.
As the yellow card could affect the prestige and trade of Vietnamese seafood in
the European and global markets, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters
and Producers (VASEP) and businesses have also made every effort to cooperate
with authorised agencies and with one another to fight IUU fishing over the last
six months.
Le Hang, a representative of VASEP, said the association has regularly updated
the list of fisheries businesses committing to IUU fishing prevention on its
website in both English and Vietnamese, thus showing Vietnamese firms’ consensus
and determination to EU importers and managerial agencies.
She noted that after the EU issued the yellow card warning, seafood exports to
this market have declined as importers have become more cautious and worried
that tightened examination of imports could take them more cost and time.
Nguyen Xuan Nam, Chairman of the board of directors of the Hai Vuong Co. Ltd,
told Vietnam News Agency that the EU is a very important market and some of his
company’s clients have expressed concern about the risk of a red card, which can
lead to a trade ban on fishery products, after the yellow card. His company has
actively informed its clients about Vietnam’s solutions to soon lift the yellow
card and avoid red card.
Brian Cullinane, purchasing director at Pan Euro Foods – an Irish company that
has imported Vietnamese aquatic products for five years, said the EU’s yellow
card warning is a relatively new issue and almost hasn’t affected the market
much, but the situation could worsen in the next two or three years if Vietnam
failed to lift the yellow card.
On April 20, Vietnam submitted a report on its efforts to address IUU fishing to
the EC. The EU is set to send a delegation to Vietnam between May 15 and 25 to
assess local IUU fishing prevention.
Source: VNA
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