Vietnam hopes to further foster agricultural collaboration with Belgium, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan said at a meeting with the Belgium side in Brussels on September 9.

Vietnam must put an end to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in a bid to have the European Commission (EC)’s “yellow card” removed by the end of 2021, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said at a virtual meeting on the issue on September 7.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) and the World Bank (WB) in Vietnam on August 10 released “A Trade-Based Analysis of the Economic Impact of Non-Compliance with Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing: The Case of Vietnam”.

Tuna exporters are forecast to meet obstacles in the third quarter due to hike in transport costs and COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Public Security has been asked to seriously punish individuals and organisations working as brokers to bring Vietnamese fishing vessels and fishermen to overseas waters to illegally exploit aquatic resources.

The National Steering Committee on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Prevention and Control on July 13 held an online meeting with representatives of 28 coastal localities to discuss measures to continue to combat IUU fishing.

Kien Giang province aims to resolutely minimise and end illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, develop and implement a project on consolidating and rearranging fishing vessels in the province to provide stable work for fishermen, ensuring sustainability in preventing IUU fishing.

The Prime Minister on June 24 issued a directive on inter-sectoral coordination between ministries, sectors and the People’s Committees of 28 coastal localities in exchanging and handling information so as to prevent and put an end to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in foreign waters.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on June 7 sent a document to the Chairpersons of the People's Committees of coastal provinces and cities on strictly handling organisations and individuals that let fishing vessels violate foreign waters for illegal fishing.

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang has completed 98.6% of its plan to equip fishing vessels with cruise control devices as part of measures to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.