Experts from the European Commission will visit Vietnam again in January 2019 to review the “yellow card” currently imposed on the Southeast Asian nation, according to a statement from Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on 25 June.
Vietnam was first issued a yellow card by the E.C. in October 2017. The commission's carding system is the European Union's main tool in the fight against illegal fishing. It encourages countries to work with the commission to improve their fisheries governance and retain access to E.U. markets. The yellow card does not directly affect trade between the two countries, but it does require Vietnam make improvements within a reasonable timeframe to avoid a red card, which would result in a total ban of Vietnamese seafood products entering the E.U.
As part of its review process, inspectors from the European Commission performed an initial site visit in Vietnam in May 2018. In the review, which took place 15 to 24 May, the inspectors agreed Vietnam has made some progress in fighting against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The country, however, will have to tackle major challenges in meeting the E.C.’s requirements – for example, only 3,000 fishing boats operating at sea out of some 33,000 have been equipped with satellite-connected positioning devices. Vietnam has told the E.C. that it finds it hard to secure enough funding for the installation on the remaining boats, the ministry said.
In advance of the visit, the E.C. has shared a report with Vietnamese authorities detailing the shortcomings in the different areas of the dialogue, an E.U. official told SeafoodSource on 27 June, adding that the commission will continue cooperating with the Southeast Asia nation to address the situation that led to the yellow card.
Per the requirements for Vietnam to have the yellow card withdrawn, the country submitted its first progress report prior to the E.C.’s inspection visit in May 2018. It must submit its next progress report by the end of 2018.
The European official, however, said the commission is not able to preempt any further step in the bilateral dialogue with Vietnam on IUU fishing at this stage.
Vietnam incorporated all of the E.C.’s recommendations into its 2017 fisheries law and other new regulations. But the country needs to enhance actual implementation of the law and better enforce regulations in provincial and municipal levels, the Vietnamese ministry said.
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) warned in May that the value of Vietnam’s tuna exports to the European Union is expected to feel the negative impacts from the yellow card in the months ahead. The growth of its tuna exports has recently declined on month-on-month basis, according to VASEP.
A growing number complaints from E.U. regarding Vietnam’s catch certification process have also driven down Vietnam’s cephalopod export value to the E.U, VASEP said.
Photo courtesy of VietnamPlus
