HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) yesterday introduced the Whitebook on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) in Việt Nam.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vũ Văn Tám, the book is an active communication programme by the VASEP, not only for fishermen, but also all seafood industry stakeholders.

He said he hoped there will be improvements in general perceptions and behaviour towards unified undertakings in the IUU Action Program, as a result.

Furthermore, Tám said he wished that the European Commission will trust and acknowledge Việt Nam’s effort, and soon withdraw the yellow cards placed on Vietnamese fisheries.

According to Nguyễn Thị Thu Sắc, VASEP’s Vice Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of the IUU Steering Committee, the book, consisting of five chapters in Vietnamese and English, is a collection of basic information on IUU fishing.

VASEP dedicated a chapter to expressing its views and messages on behalf of the Vietnamese seafood business community in opposing IUU fishing.

The seafood sector is willing to support and join with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other stakeholders to implement long-term national action against IUU exploitation.

This publication provides an overview of Việt Nam’s fisheries sector, applied regulations and practices, the impact of recent yellow cards given by the European Union (UN) and the Government of Việt Nam’s long-term action plan to combat IUU exploitation, including recommendations for stakeholders in the Vietnamese seafood value chain.

"We hope this publication will be a useful document in conveying basic information about IUU, contributing to raising awareness in the Vietnamese fishing sector and the global community, especially the EU market, about Việt Nam’s determination to fight against IUU exploitation, in the immediate and long-term,” said Sắc.

The Whitebook was unveiled at a celebration in HCM City, on the occasion of Việt Nam’s seafood exported value reaching the US$8 billion mark in 2017. For more information, please visit website at https://seafood.vasep.com.vn/while-book-iuu.html. — VNS