Vietnam's fight against IUU fishing aims to protect the interests of fishermen

Duringn the Prime Minister's official visit to Belgium and attendance in the EU - ASEAN Summit in Brussels on December 14, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan organized a working session with the EU's Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DGMARE).

At the meeting, the Minister expressed his wish to learn about the core values ​​that DGMARE and the EU are pursuing with regards to the sustainable development of oceans and fisheries. Ms. Charlina Vitcheva, Director General of DGMARE, shared on the EU's concerns for the sustainable development of oceans and fisheries resources.

The EU has a strict zero tolerance policy against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities. This policy continues to receive political consensus at the highest level from all EU member states at a recent meeting held in Lisbon in June 2022.

Over the past 20 years, the EU has provided little subsidy to the fishing industry as well as imposed a limit on total harvest and the number of fishing vessels in each member state. For the EU, the fight against IUU fishing has two main purposes: (i) to sustainably protect marine resource, ensuring livelihoods for fishing communities; (ii) to ensure fairness and justice for fishermen who effectively implement sustainable fishing activities.

Ms. Charlina Vitcheva highly regarded the Vietnamese Government's political commitment and efforts to combating IUU fishing in recent years. Namely, Vietnam has established a clear legal corridor under the determined guidance of the Prime Minister as well as the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

After the IUU inspection team's visit to Vietnam at the end of October 2022, Ms. Vitcheva drew attention to four important points that the Vietnamese government needs to improve for future inspections: (i) ensure that there are no more violating fishing vessels arrested in foreign waters; (ii) all current violations must be handled strictly and transparently with sufficient sanctions to act as deterrence; (iii) strengthen fleet management, ensure the installation and operation of cruise monitoring equipment on fishing vessels; (iv) strengthen the control of seafood products imported for processing, with emphasis on avoiding products of IUU origin.

Minister Le Minh Hoan highly appreciated the information and suggestions by Ms. Vitcheva. According to the Minister, the most important aspect is not how Vietnam ensures the full implementation of EU's recommendations to remove the IUU "yellow card", but that Vietnamese people and businesses must learn about the benefits of the fight against IUU fishing.

When people understand the benefits of the fight against IUU fishing, they will actively participate in monitoring and handling violations. This is the foundation to establish Vietnam's national image and reputation to the international community with regards to sustainable development as well as Vietnam's responsible participation in global issues.

The Minister also informed Ms. Vitcheva of Vietnam's efforts and determination in establishing and implementing the 180-day Action Plan against IUU fishing in preparation for the upcoming EU inspection team. On the other hand, Vietnam is actively implementing the Strategy for marine aquaculture and livelihood transformation for fishermen.

The Minister expressed his wish to receive the EU's support in knowledge, experience and resources to not only combat IUU fishing but also to develop a sustainable Blue Economy for the oceans.