After more than five years since the European Commission (EC) issued a "yellow card" warning to Vietnam's illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing on October 23, 2017, and following three inspections, the EC has confirmed that Vietnam has been moving in the right direction and made improvements in the process of removing the IUU fishing yellow card.
After more than five years since the European Commission (EC) issued a "yellow card" warning to Vietnam's illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing on October 23, 2017, and following three inspections, the EC has confirmed that Vietnam has been moving in the right direction and made improvements in the process of removing the IUU fishing yellow card.
S ince 2017, the government of Vietnam set a goal of implementing synchronized, effective, and efficient fisheries regulations, addressing existing limitations and challenges as recommended by the EC to combat IUU fishing and remove the yellow card warning by 2023; and unifying awareness, action, and engagement across the political system to strengthen the prevention and control of IUU fishing.
The Soc Trang’s border guards are strengthening their coordinated patrol efforts and conducting campaigns to enhance awareness for fishermen engaged in offshore fishing activities. Photo: Trung Hieu/VNA
Currently, the country has nearly 90,000 fishing vessels, of which almost 56,000 are under 15m in length, while over 30,000 are over 15m in length. By the end of April 2023, there are 86 fishery cooperatives in 16 out of 28 provinces and cities with coastal areas, comprising over 17,000 members and more than 6,200 vessels measuring 15m or longer.
At present, Vietnam has over 4,200 offshore production teams with the participation of nearly 29,600 boats and around 180,000 workers in coastal areas. These consist of five to ten vessels working together, examining the same fishing grounds and sharing a close relationship (such as being from the same family, or the same village) who collaborate with and support each other. The advantage of this model is that it enhances production efficiency and minimizes risks when operating at sea.
The General Director of the Directorate of Fisheries Tran Dinh Luan stated that the EC continues to warn that the "yellow card" is like a barrier, causing too many difficulties for our country's seafood export activities.
Recently, in order to remove the EC's yellow card, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 208/QD-TTg on March 10, 2023, approving a plan to convert certain fishing activities that have an impact on resources and the ecological environment.
Tran Dinh Luan also emphasized that currently, in order to remove the EC's "yellow card", that our country must reduce the marine productivity while developing the economy and ensuring the livelihood of fishermen, the value of seafood must be increased. Therefore, there is no other way but to enhance the efficiency of fishing operations and increase the value of processing. Localities must continue to review and develop their fishing fleets and monitor fishing activities according to the planned sea areas.
In 2023, the agriculture sector set a target of an export turnover of over 50 billion US dollars, with seafood exports surpassing the 11 billion US dollars mark. However, due to the impact of economic recession, the export turnover, including agriculture, has decreased significantly since the beginning of 2023. Phung Duc Tien, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development said that currently, the seafood sector is facing the EC's yellow card warning, which requires a reduction in fishing intensity. Therefore, the sector and localities must promptly implement measures to switch to other occupations, open up export sources, invest in technology modernization and value-added processes, invest in deep processing, and reduce raw processing.
The Deputy Minister believes that Vietnam has great potential and advantages to develop offshore aquaculture. The target is to reach 850,000tons of aquaculture production by 2025. Currently, the country has already achieved over 700,000tons, but the majority comes from near-shore cage farming, which has high stocking density and is susceptible to increased risks due to environmental pollution. Therefore, it is necessary to promote offshore aquaculture to increase seafood production for export purposes.
Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien emphasized that the policy is to create maximum conditions and a favorable environment for businesses, organizations, and individuals to participate and promote the overall value of the sector. To achieve this, the fisheries sector and local authorities must thoroughly review and promptly provide effective recommendations to resolve existing issues and address bottlenecks.
The Vietnamese government firmly maintains the viewpoint that preventing and eliminating IUU fishing is the responsibility of each coastal nation to protect seafood resources, ensure sustainable and stable livelihoods for local communities, ensure national security and defense in coastal areas, and fulfill international commitments and agreements that Vietnam participates in.
Story: VNP Photos: VNA Translated by Nguyen Tuoi