Vietnam has had many efforts to remove the IUU "yellow card"

The European Commission (EC)’s delegation worked with Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Binh Dinh provinces during the fourth field inspection.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien stated that the EC's delegation continues to recognize and appreciate Vietnam's efforts to combat IUU, particularly the political determination and direction of the Vietnamese Government and Prime Minister.

"The EC delegation also praised the positive changes, which are moving in the right direction, as well as the Vietnamese Government's close cooperation." It also agreed with Vietnam that the move from private to responsible fishing had resulted in beneficial developments," Mr. Phung Duc Tien stated.

In terms of the legal framework, the EC delegation essentially agreed with the draft of two decrees amending and supplementing the Government's Decree 26/2019/ND-CP detailing a number of articles to implement the Fisheries Law and Decree No. 42/2019/ND-CP regulating penalties for administrative violations in the fisheries sector.

Mr. Phung Duc Tien stated that the EC's delegation had to submit the formal results of this on-site inspection to the EC's Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries before the removal of Vietnam's "yellow card" would be completed.

However, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien advised that leaders of coastal provinces and cities continue to rigorously, routinely, and concurrently execute the IUU measures from now until the next inspection (estimated in May-June 2024). Only with such a comprehensive set of measures will Vietnam be able to get rid of the "yellow card." Provinces with systems linked to VMS equipment must be on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week to identify ships crossing borders and losing connection, while also taking significant efforts to prevent fishing vessels from fishing illegally in foreign seas.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will swiftly implement the electronic traceability system while continuing to create working groups to examine, urge, and recommend actions to deal with irresponsible organizations and people in various provinces and municipalities.Thus, nearly 6 years since receiving the IUU "yellow card" from EC, Vietnam is still making continuous efforts to fight IUU, aiming to remove tags for the Vietnam fisheries industry.

Previously, the European Commission issued nine recommendations for Vietnam to eliminate the yellow card. By November 2019, the EC had reduced it to four recommendations: completion of the legislative framework; monitoring, inspecting, and supervising the operations of fishing vessels and fleet management; output certification and traceability of exploited aquatic goods; and law enforcement.

Vietnam has recently focused on many actions in accordance with these recommendations, including: installing tracking equipment for fishing vessels with a length of 15m or more; continuously opening peak patrols, inspections, and controls in sea areas, particularly in bordering and overlapping sea areas that have not yet been delineated between Vietnam and other countries; Strictly managing IUU cases involving fishing vessels.

According to Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien, removing the "yellow card" necessitates drastic measures of all sectors. If the yellow card is not removed this year, it will take another 1-2 years since the EU will elect a new administration in April 2024, and we will have to begin again.

On October 7, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presided over the Conference to Promote IUU Solutions, ready to welcome and collaborate with the EC for the fourth time.

The Prime Minister urged ministries, sectors, localities, and relevant authorities to take quick and dramatic action to overcome limit ations and impediments and successfully implement measures to prevent and stop IUU.

"Localities must cooperate, be frank, honest, ask for advice, listen, and not react to get the best results during the EC's next inspection," the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister also emphasized that all sectors, localities, and people must raise awareness and responsibility in order to protect the environment and aquatic resources at sea, exploit and fish effectively but sustainably, and to closely combine marine economic development with the protection of the country's island sovereignty while respecting international law, particularly the United Nations Charter and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Fighting IUU, according to the Prime Minister, is for the benefit of the nation and people, not because of the EC's inspection. "Fishing has long been a source of income for fishermen." As a result, changing this behavior is not an easy task in one or two days, but we must continue," the Prime Minister added.

The chance to erase Vietnam's IUU "yellow card" is likely to become a reality soon, thanks to the tremendous efforts of the Government, all sectors, and the people.