Vietnam prioritizes lifting EU warning over illegal fishing
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Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Dung made removing the European Commission’s “yellow card” for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing a top political priority for Vietnam.
Since a July meeting, Vietnam transitioned from paper-based to data-driven management of its fishing fleet, creating a national system to track vessels. Vietnamese authorities report a sharp decrease in the number of fishing vessels detained by foreign authorities.
Dung directed several ministries to enforce five prohibitions including preventing Vietnamese vessels from being detained abroad and ensuring all seafood shipments can be traced to their origin. The Ministry of National Defense will increase monitoring of ports, while the Ministry of Public Security will investigate fraudulent seafood practices. Vietnam is also working with the European Commission to resolve remaining issues, after implementing 31 of the 38 recommendations the EC issued following an inspection in March. However, challenges remain.
As of September 30, officials were still verifying the status of 1,247 deregistered vessels, and identified 5,586 vessels that do not meet operational requirements. Ho Chi Minh City reported 385 ineligible vessels as of September, all of which are now anchored and monitored. Vietnam hopes to have the yellow card lifted this year, ahead of a sixth inspection scheduled for this month. The European Commission first issued the warning in October 2017, placing Vietnamese fisheries under increased scrutiny.
