Việt Nam had 13,150 ships with cruise monitoring equipment by January this year. — Photo nld.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyễn Xuân Cường has urged 28 coastal provinces to promote further actions against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

That could help Việt Nam’s fishery sector remove the yellow card this year after the EC's third inspection in mid-2020, he said.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) reported an inspection delegation of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG-Mare) is scheduled to visit Việt Nam from May 25 to June 5 to inspect implementation of the EC recommendations fighting IUU fishing.

If the EC inspection team continues to find illegal fishing in the third inspection this year, Việt Nam will not be able to remove the yellow card and may even receive a "red card" (banning imports), according to MARD.

The fight against IUU fishing is an important factor for the EC's decision of removing the yellow card or not, the MARD reported.

Therefore, Minister Cường has requested the 28 coastal provinces to promote the fight against IUU fishing and effectively implement the Fisheries Law. The provinces must strictly control fishing vessels entering and leaving ports, product origin traceability, as well as fishing diaries and reports.

Nguyễn Quang Hùng, deputy director of MARD's General Department of Fisheries, said as of January this year, Việt Nam had 13,150 ships with cruise monitoring equipment installed, including 2,372 ships with a length of over 24m and 10,778 ships with a length of 15m-24m. That means 92 per cent of the total of over-24m-long ships have cruise monitoring equipment while only 37 per cent of ships with a length of 15m-24m have this equipment.

Cường said after two inspections in June 2018 and November 2019, the EC’s inspection team recognised Việt Nam’s co-operation, transparency and honesty in providing and exchanging information during their time in Việt Nam.

The country’s significant improvements in the monitoring, control and surveillance of fishing vessels have been noted and the management process and organisation of fishing vessels through ports are carried out flexibly and effectively.

Việt Nam has also made great efforts to install fishing vessel monitoring systems, disseminate regulations to vessel owners and implement gear marking fishing vessels based on the EC’s recommendations.

The EC’s inspection team also acknowledged Việt Nam’s efforts in increasing the management of fishing density through freezing offshore fishing fleets. Việt Nam has completed a legal framework for fishing activities, including the Fisheries Law.

The sector has remained weak in managing foreign vessels visiting local ports to import fishery products. The traceability has not yet met the EC's requirements.

According to MARD, due to the EU yellow card for Việt Nam's seafood products, Việt Nam's exports to the EU fell by 6.5 per cent to US$390 million in 2018 and by 11.5 per cent to $345.2 million in 2019.

From being the second largest import market for Việt Nam's seafood, after the yellow card, the EU has dropped to fifth, and its imports have decreased from 18 per cent to 13 per cent of Việt Nam’s exports. — VNS