Hanoi (VNA) – Director for the DirectorateGeneral for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries’ International Ocean Governance andSustainable Fisheries of the European Union Veronika Veits has expressedimpression on Vietnam’s outcomes in following the EC’s recommendationsregarding the settlement of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

During a working session with Deputy Prime Minister TrinhDinh Dung in Hanoi on November 14, Veits informed the host that the inspectiondelegation held a number of working sessions with ministries, agencies andcoastal localities in the past 10 days, during which both sides discussedstraightforwardly and shared transparent information.

She said ministries, agencies and localities have been awareof their responsibilities while the entire political system affirmed commitmentand strong determination to fight IUU fishing.

Highlighting the need to rally public involvement in theeffort, she lauded Vietnam for building a legal framework in line withinternational practices to address the issue, including the Fisheries Law andguideline documents.

According to her, the delegation suggested the government,ministries, agencies and localities continue seriously abiding by existing lawsas well as enhance legal enforcement.

Vietnam was also asked to take more drastic actions toprevent fishing vessels from illegally tapping aquatic products in othercountries’ waters, which is crucial to have the “yellow card” warning lifted,she said.

To achieve that, she proposed quickly installing monitoring deviceson fishing vessels, especially on large-scale ones.

She agreed with Deputy PM Dung’s idea to restructure fleetsof fishing vessels and encourage fishermen to switch to aquaculture instead ofexploitation at sea.

Deputy PM Dung, for his part, emphasised that Vietnamadvocates developing a modern, sustainable and responsible fisheries sector; aswell as completely ending IUU fishing soon.

He affirmed that Vietnam will continue consistently buildingplans and strategies for different stages to deal with existing problemsregarding infrastructure and fishermen’s awareness.

The host said the Government and the Prime Minister willcontinue directing the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development,ministries and agencies concerned continue fine-tuning legal frameworks,especially regulations on punishment for violated fishing vessels and controlof foreign vessels that import fisheries materials.

The Deputy PM proposed that the EC support cooperation incapacity improvement, technical assistance and raising fishermen’ awareness ofthe effort.

He also called on the delegation to back Vietnam’s activeefforts to soon lift “yellow card” warning for the country’s seafood export tothe European Union./.