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.

The south-central province of Binh Thuan has asked localities to promptly complete the installation of Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) on all fishing vessels and acquire the necessary data as part of efforts to tackle illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has urged localities to adopt drastic measures to fight irregular, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The European Commission (EC) has made positive assessment of Vietnam’s fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing following two inspections in the past over three years since EC imposed a “yellow card” on Vietnam’s export of aquatic products to Europe.

VOV.VN - Due to the adverse impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the nation’s seafood exports for the entire year are anticipated to reach approximately US$8.2 billion, thereby failing to meet the export target of US$10 billion, according to the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority (Agrotrade).

Removing the European Commission (EC)’s illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing “yellow card” is not easy and cannot be done overnight, but the Vietnamese business community and associations are still determined to do, not only to meet EU requirements, but also for the sake of sustainable fishery development.

Vietnam aims to develop its fisheries sector into a large commodity production industry with competitive capacity and responsible and sustainable integration in line with international institutions, contributing to improving employee incomes.

VOV.VN - Enjoying advantages of tax incentives from the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), coupled with the removal of the European Commission (EC)'s yellow card, mean that seafood exports to the EU are anticipated to witness robust growth over the next five years, a seminar in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho heard on October 16.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung urged stronger and more drastic and appropriate measures to early complete all recommendations by the European Commission (EC) so as to remove its yellow card warning over illegal and unregulated fishing (IUU).