Ensuring IUU "yellow card" does not become "red card"

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Stopping fishing vessels violating foreign waters is the most important factor to remove the current IUU "yellow card". Source: Internet

Speaking at the 3rd Quarterly Regular Press Conference of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on October 5, 2021, regarding the removal of the "yellow card" of the European Commission (EC) on combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, Mr. Nguyen Quang Hung, Deputy Director General of the Directorate of Fisheries (MARD), said that due to the Covid-19 pandemic this year, the EC did not go to Vietnam to check the remedy of the IUU "yellow card".

It is expected that on October 27, 2021, the EC will have an online meeting with the Directorate of Fisheries. The Directorate of Fisheries has sent the report to EC and gave Vietnam's efforts towards the removal of the “yellow card” this year as well as the whole process of the past four years.

“Vietnam is making great efforts from the central to the local level. Up to now, we think Vietnam cannot be raised from "yellow card" to "red Card” by the EC," the leader of the Directorate of Fisheries said.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Hung added that at a recent meeting chaired by the Prime Minister on removing IUU "yellow card", the Prime Minister and the leaders of the provinces also promised the Prime Minister to stop fishing vessels violating foreign waters before December 31, 2021.

After the Prime Minister chaired the meeting and directed the removal of the IUU "yellow card", a week later, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien inspected the anti-IUU fishing situation in Thanh Hoa province. Only two weeks later, the locality got involved very closely. Other provinces also joined in drastic action from the commune level.

"The Prime Minister directs to remove the "yellow card" by 2022. With the drastic intervention from the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as well as other ministries, departments, and sectors, believes that the IUU "yellow card" will be removed in 2022-2023," the leader of the Directorate of Fisheries said.

Previously, on October 23, 2017, the EC issued the "yellow card" for IUU fishing activities and made nine recommendations that Vietnam should take to combat IUU fishing, removing the "yellow card".

To check the results of the implementation of the recommendations, the EC side organized two field visits in Vietnam in May 2018 and November 2019 and continued to offer four groups of recommendations that require Vietnam to carry out currently including: legal framework; monitor, inspect and control fishing vessel activities, fleet management; certification of quantity and traceability of aquatic products from fishing; and law enforcement.