“Sprint” before EC IUU test

If the “red card” is applied, the EU trade ban will be applied entirely to fishery products.

On September 29, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a conference to discuss solutions to overcome shortcomings and limitations in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

Work closely to overcome the problem

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien assessed that, after five years of being warned by the EC, although there have been many positive changes, in order to meet the EC's requirements to remove the yellow card, there is still a lot of work to do.

Accordingly, it is necessary to complete Decree 42/2019/ND-CP on sanctioning administrative violations in the fisheries sector, including content on cold sanction; amending Decree 26/2019/ND-CP guiding the Law on Fisheries; Decree 67/2014/ND-CP on fisheries development policy.

Regarding the installation of VMS locators on ships, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said that although there is only a small percentage, these are ships with a high risk of violating foreign waters, so it is necessary to install 100 locators, especially ships 15m or more.

While the EC requires even ships lying on the shore to turn on positioning to control. Accordingly, ship owners and localities must cooperate closely and seriously.

In the coming days, the Border Guard along with fishing ports and localities will strictly control when ships leave the harbor and are eligible to go out to sea. For ships violating foreign waters, they will also be assigned to the Coast Guard to handle. “Thus, the fisheries surveillance forces, border guards, coast guards, and navy are all responsible for controlling on the basis of strict enforcement by ship owners and captains,” Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said.

Regarding law enforcement, in the near future, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will evaluate, summarize and report to the Prime Minister the units and provinces that have not been done strictly to have closer, more practical and effective instructions.

For fishing vessels violating foreign waters, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will work with the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security to review, and localities will review each commune where the violating vessel is located to remind and declare to raise awareness for commune authorities, wards and people about the effects of violations on Vietnam's seafood exports.

Heavy damage in case of “red card”

Nguyen Thi Thu Sac, Vice President of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Head of IUU VASEP Executive Board, said that from 2011 to 2021, Vietnam's seafood exports increased from $6 billion to nearly $9 billion. In which, exports to the EU contribute $1 - 1.4 billion per year, accounting for 15-17% of seafood export turnover to other markets.

After the EC issued a yellow card warning, Vietnam's exploited seafood exports continuously decreased for 4 years. In the period 2017 - 2019, after 2 years of being affected by the IUU yellow card, seafood exports to the EU market decreased by 12%, equivalent to US$183.5 million. Accordingly, the total export turnover of seafood decreased by over 10%, equivalent to a decrease of US$43 million. In 2020, exports to the EU dropped the most because of the double impact of the IUU yellow card and the Covid-19 pandemic. By 2021, the export of products will increase again thanks to the impact of the EVFTA, which will increase export prices and increase import demand for some products, except pangasius.

Thu Sac said that if the red card is applied, the trade ban will be applied entirely to fishery products. In 2022, it is estimated that seafood exports to the EU will reach over US$1.4 billion, of which seafood is about US$420 million, and aquaculture is about US$980 million. Thus, if the red card occurs from 2023, the loss of exports to the EU alone could reach US$518 million.

In the long run, if the red card lasts for 2-3 years, the entire industry will be affected. Specifically, the fishing and seafood processing industry will decrease by at least 30% from the current capacity, leading to a decrease in export value, employment impact and poverty alleviation.

The VASEP representative also pointed out that the EU market requires the highest quality standards for imported products and offers good prices, which requires manufacturers to continuously innovate and develop their production system to meet market requirements. However, if the industry loses its high-standard market, it also loses its incentive to upgrade its value chain.

Moreover, the ban will affect the reputation of Vietnamese seafood products. Other markets such as the US and Japan may also follow the EU's IUU regulations.