Efforts to lift EC’s yellow card on Vietnam seafood called inadequate
Efforts to lift EC’s yellow card on Vietnam seafood called inadequate
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has launched inspections into the implementation of measures to lift the European Commission’s yellow card on Vietnam’s seafood in Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Phu Yen provinces, and uncovered multiple inadequacies and a lack of determination in these localities.
Measures to remove the EC’s warning against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing were not seriously taken into account in these localities, reported the ministry.
In Nghe An, inspections of all fishing boats leaving harbors or sailing into berths have yet to meet the current regulations, while documents recording dates of leaving and sailing into berths of fishing boats, and the volume of seafood, revealed many mistakes. There also were fishing boats that did not report to authorities before docking.
Further, a roadmap to install positioning equipment on fishing boats measuring at least 24 meters long had yet to be outlined, in addition to the sluggish installation of such equipment on fishing boats that are at least 15 meters long.
Meanwhile, inspection documents and the control of fishing boats leaving berths in Ha Tinh were not in line with regulations, adding that most fishing boats failed to report to competent agencies before docking. Besides this, records of the volume of seafood and boats sailing into berths, and the installation of monitoring systems and global positioning system (GPS) on boats were not fully completed.
The ministry recorded the same inadequacies in Phu Yen. Moreover, many fishermen still participated in illegal fishing activities in foreign waters, and these illegal acts were not seriously investigated.
Also, Phu Yen has some 430 fishing boats measuring at least 15 meters long, but had yet to develop a plan for installing GPS devices on these boats. It has recently installed the devices on 13 fishing boats that are at least 24 meters long.
Accordingly, the ministry asked these localities to carry out measures to remove the EC’s warning against IUU fishing in the coming period. They need to devote enough human and property resources to implement the measures, while taking steps to prevent illegal fishing in foreign waters.
