In a fact-finding trip to the southcentral coastal province of Khanh Hoa, the EC inspection team lauded the close coordination among relevant agencies in IUU combat.

The European Commission (EC) has acknowledged Vietnam's recent efforts in enhancing the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, as well as its openness to the EC's recommendations, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said on February 3.

At a conference in the central city of Da Nang to make known the outcome of the recent working session with an EC inspection team, the ministry’s Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries said the team described Vietnam’s legal framework as comprehensive and in line with international standards, but the enforcement remains limited and uneven.

In a fact-finding trip to the southcentral coastal province of Khanh Hoa, the EC lauded the close coordination among relevant agencies in IUU combat. It also pointed out problems related to traceability and control of imported seafood in containers, as well as the fact that several Vietnamese vessels were arrested in the territorial waters of neighboring countries.

To fix them, the directorate set the goal of keeping a close watch on fleets of vessels and their legal enforcement, and origin tracing of seafood in line with regulations.

Ministries, agencies and localities were asked to follow the Prime Minister’s directions and build an action plan to fight IUU after being approved by the PM.

At present, 86.7% of the fishing vessels have been licensed, up 20% from last September. Meanwhile, fishing vessels with over 15m in length equipped with voyage monitoring system (VMS) has amounted to 96.35%.