General Department of Vietnam Customs proposes to strengthen control of crawfish

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Information of competent authorities detecting smuggled crawfish (science name as Cherax Quadricarinatus) for consumption in Vietnam has been published in the mass media.

According to current legislation, crawfish are not included on the list of aquatic species permitted to be traded in Vietnam and are on the list of invasive exotic species that are at risk (based on Appendix VIII issued with the Decree No. 26/2019/ND-CP dated March 8, 2019 of the Government; Circular No. 35/2018/TT-BTNMT dated December 28, 2018 of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment).

Meanwhile, Clause 7, Article 7 of the Biodiversity Law No. 20/2008/QH12 stipulates prohibited acts on biodiversity, including the act of "importing and developing invasive exotic species that are harmful”.

In order to prevent and strictly manage the import of the above items, the General Department of Vietnam Customs requested provincial Customs Departments to direct customs departments and customs enforcement units to coordinate with State management authorities to strengthen measures for checking and control of the import of crawfish and to promptly fight and prevent acts of smuggling these goods into Vietnam through the border provinces.