An inspection team from the European Commission (EC) will visit Vietnam to examine the country’s efforts on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing prevention and control in October.
Kien Giang Province People’s Committee decided to open a high peak period in 180 days to check and control illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing to remove “yellow card” following European Commission’s warning.
Today, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Mekong Delta Province of Kien Giang Le Huu Toan said that all 3,664 offshore fishing boats with a length of 15m or more in the province have been installed monitoring devices according to the present regulations.
The European Commission (EC) continued to recognise Vietnam's efforts to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, according to Deputy General Director of the Directorate of Fisheries (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) Nguyen Quang Hung.
In order to ensure the sustainable development and long-term cooperation of fisheries and aquaculture, the industry must simultaneously carry out a lot of measures, including implementing legal fishing activities, complying with the EU Regulation to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), modernizing the fleets of fishing vessels, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien.
Vietnam must put an end to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in a bid to have the European Commission (EC)’s “yellow card” removed by the end of 2021, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said at a virtual meeting on the issue on September 7.
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) and the World Bank (WB) in Vietnam on August 10 released “A Trade-Based Analysis of the Economic Impact of Non-Compliance with Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing: The Case of Vietnam”.
Up to 10 years in prison and fines up to VND5 billion (US$221,000) now await captains, fishermen and boat owners who conduct illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.