Da Nang (VNA) – The Directorate of Fisheries (DoF) held a nationalconference in the central coastal city of Da Nang on December 15 to push urgentmeasures to counter the European Commission (EC)’s “yellow card” on illegal,unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung, head of the DoF Department forScience, Technology and International Cooperation, said that right after the ECannounced a yellow card for Vietnam, the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (MARD) worked with related ministries and agencies to implementdrastic measures to effectively carry out the EC’s recommendations in sixmonths from October 23, 2017 to April 23, 2018, so that the warning can beremoved.

The DoF itself has also taken numerous measures in responseto the EC’s warning on IUU fishing, Dung stated, adding that the Philippinesshared its experience in regaining the EC’s “green card” within the frameworkof a bilateral fisheries meeting between Vietnam and the Philippines onNovember 20-21.

Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Association of SeafoodExporters and Producers (VASEP) Nguyen Thi Thu Sac said that the European Unionis currently the second biggest importer of Vietnamese aquatic products,following the US.

Therefore, being served with a yellow card will havenegative impact on the export of aquatic products to the EU and subsequently theUS and other potential markets, she stressed.

To regain the green card, VASEP has kept contact with theMARD and the EU Delegation to Vietnam to deal with shortcomings of thecountry’s fisheries sector. The association also holds regular meetings withits members to update information for them and help them feel secured in exportingaquatic products to the EU, she added.

The MARD is also implementing urgent solutions in responseto the EU’s warning on IUU fishing with the focus on drafting a decree guidingthe enforcement of the 2017 Law on Fisheries and submitting a new documentreplacing Decree No.103/2013/ND-CP and Decree No.41/2017/ND-CP  on administrative fines in fishingactivities.

According to MARD statistics, after Vietnam was issued witha yellow card, 16 fishing vessels with 118 fishermen continued violating foreignwaters and were arrested.

Therefore, the ministry asked 28 coastal localities tostrictly follow the Prime Minister’s dispatch and directive related to IUUfishing, intensify inspections and investigations on IUU fishing to stopillegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing on foreign waters.

Vietnam was served with a yellow card warning bythe EU in September for failing to progress in fighting IUU fishing and it hasbeen offered the opportunity to take measures to rectify the situation within sixmonths.

To this end, the EC has proposed an action plan for the country. The"yellow card" is followed by a "green card" if issues areresolved or a "red card" if they are not. A “red card” can lead to atrade ban on fishery products.-VNA