Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has urged localities to adopt drastic measures to fight irregular, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. All Vietnamese fishermen, businesses, and local authorities must consider this an important and urgent task to affirm the prestige of Vietnam’s fisheries sector in the world and among countries it shares territorial waters with, and be resolved to meet the standards set by the European Commission (EC). Since the EC gave a “yellow card” warning to Vietnam’s fisheries and seafood in the European market in October 2017, the entire sector has suffered marked losses. Tran Dinh Luan, head of the ministry’s Directorate of Fisheries, said it is necessary to prevent, deter, and eliminate IUU fishing in order to remove the “yellow card” warning, develop fisheries responsibly, and integrate into the world. This is also the guideline of the Party and State, as reflected through the Law on Fisheries. Since the imposition of the EC warning, Vietnam’s fishery export value to Europe has fallen by between 6 and 10 percent annually. From being the second-largest importer of Vietnam’s seafood, with value representing 17-20 percent of Vietnam’s total export revenue, the EU now ranks fifth, after Japan, the US, the Republic of Korea (RoK), and ASEAN. The Government and the National Steering Committee on IUU Fishing Prevention have issued a range of documents instructing ministries, agencies, and People’s Committees in 28 coastal cities and provinces to drastically take preventive measures. The MARD has conducted regular inspections in localities. The EC has highly valued Vietnam’s political determination to implement its recommendations in this regard. Vietnam has openly and transparently announced the results of inspections of seafood exports to the EU and has completed a legal framework that serves as a foundation to materialise relevant …
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