On the afternoon of December 1, 2022, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired the Prime Ministers’ Conference with 28 coastal provinces and cities to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The conference was held in person at government headquarters and online at more than 600 bridge points in townships, counties, municipalities, districts, towns, provinces and centrally-governed cities.

WHY didn’t the EC take the “GOLD CARD”?

Mr Phung Duc Tien, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that after 5 years of Vietnam warning, the anti-IUU situation has been positive changes, recognized, evaluated and recommended by the European Commission (EC) “yellow card”. by the EC inspection team during the last 3rd inspection.

Accordingly, the EC noted that the anti-IUU fishing situation in Vietnam had changed much more positively compared to the second actual inspection in 2019.

That is, the legal framework has been finalized; tracking, fleet management, performance monitoring; Conduct certification, certification and traceability of domestic and imported aquatic products; Law enforcement and administrative penalties have been improved and notable results have been achieved.

However, there are still many issues that make the EC inspection team dissatisfied. That is, Vietnam’s fleet is still large compared to the amount of resources, the registration and registration of fishing vessels is still ongoing. The situation of fishing vessels losing connection to the VMS and crossing the sea boundary is still common, but on-site investigation and treatment of administrative violations is still very limited compared to violations. The control of fishing vessels in and out of the port is still not strict, the surveillance rate at the quay is still low. The recording, transmission and quality of the mining logs are not satisfactory.

Alongside this, there are still many shortcomings in the implementation of certification, certification and traceability of domestically caught seafood; do not yet control the origin of fisheries products imported into Vietnam by container ships from abroad for export to markets other than Europe, leading to the risk of IUU violations.

The risk of mixing domestic and foreign raw materials for processing and export to the EU market. The situation of fishing vessels violating illegal fishing in foreign waters is still occurring, complicated developments …

At the conference, delegates said that the consciousness of some people is still limited; Thoughts of immediate benefit are still high while our sanctions are still low; Regulations for setting up driving surveillance still have loopholes; Controlling the fishing activities of fishermen is difficult due to the wide range of activities…

CREATE A 180-DAY ACTION PLAN

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh pointed out that the shortcomings and limitations in fighting IUU are caused not only by people’s awareness, but also by the lack of spirit and responsibility of part of organizations and individuals who have not fulfilled their responsibilities , the assigned task.

Deficiencies and limitations are being overcome slowly in many places due to a lack of drastic leadership, guidance and administration of the heads of branches and levels, due attention, inspection and inspection. In many places there is a lack of long-term solutions to create livelihoods for people…

“It must be recognized that tackling IUU is not just a form of coping, but for the good of the nation, the interests of the people, safeguarding the country’s reputation, fulfilling international obligations and affirming that Vietnam has a responsibility towards of the international community, including the protection of the marine environment and marine ecosystems,” stressed the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister called on ministries and branches to coordinate with municipalities to review general technical and technological measures to combat IUU and adapt regulations to the situation; Review of fishing workforce, classification of objects, creation of livelihoods, people changing jobs, reduction of fishing forces.

The prime minister also called for fishermen’s loans to be reviewed and restructured; continue to take administrative measures to deal with IUU acts when they break criminal law, they must handle them consistently.

At the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has been mandated to coordinate with ministries, branches and municipalities to review edicts, circulars, regulations and legal documents to identify obstacles and loopholes for adaptation, relevant and realistic. In particular, the implementation of anti-IUU requires increased close coordination among each other.

“Documents must be legal in nature to be implemented synchronously from central to grassroots level; popular with the people; organize effective implementation; must review monthly what has been done, what has not been done and learn from experience, push work forward for next time,” stressed Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

The Prime Minister asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to continue to engage in international exchanges on the matter as Vietnam is a developing country with a changing economy. The Ministry of Planning and Investment guides people to use technological equipment in mining activities.

In addition, companies must work with people to expand markets and create livelihoods. The State Bank dedicates and directs the handling of debt freeze, debt restructuring and debt restructuring issues. There is a need for fishermen to raise awareness, create opportunities to fulfill obligations, create jobs and long-term livelihoods.

“Our party and state have no purpose other than to bring independence, freedom and happiness to the people, for the good of the nation and the nation, for the good of the rich, the strong country, the strong and prosperous country. Therefore, every ministry, every branch, every place and every cadre must work wholeheartedly, avoid superficial, formal, bureaucratic ills and not beat the drum,” the prime minister said.

The Prime Minister called for the urgent development of a 180-day program and action plan to implement the Commission’s recommendations to abolish the IUU “yellow card”. In doing so, the plan must clearly and specifically identify the responsibilities of the government, department, branch, province, city, district, municipality and individual; The plan must be quantified so that all authorities and individuals can understand, execute, monitor, inspect and evaluate it.

In addition, development of a long-term strategy to combat IUU with assessment of the exploitation and agricultural situation; formulation of plans; create sustainable livelihoods, change careers for people…