Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved the establishment of a National Steering Committee on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Prevention and Control.— VNA/VNS Photo
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved the establishment of a National Steering Committee on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Prevention and Control.
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung will head the committee, while Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong has been appointed as one of several deputy directors.
Members of the committee also include central officials and provincial leaders.
The committee is expected to help the PM to deal with important and inter-sector issues related to IUU fishing.
It is also responsible for urging ministries, sectors and localities to step up IUU fishing prevention to meet international practices and agreements Viet Nam has signed.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has been tasked with ensuring the committee’s operation and supervising the implementation of IUU fishing prevention, and submitting reports on the results to the committee’s director and the PM.
On October 23, 2017, the EC issued a "yellow card" warning to Viet Nam after the country failed to demonstrate sufficient progress in the fight against IUU fishing.
Countries that fail to meet EC standards are given a "yellow card", followed by a "red card" if the problems are not resolved. A red card can lead to a trade ban on fishery products.
According to EC requirements, the Vietnamese seafood sector has to implement nine recommendations, including revisions of the legal framework to ensure compliance with international and regional rules, ensuring the enforcement of the country’s revised laws and strengthening implementation of international rules and management measures.
The EC also wanted Viet Nam to issue sanctions against IUU fishing, which should be written in the revised Law on Fisheries, and give concrete evidence proving Viet Nam’s efforts to fight IUU fishing. — VNS