Vietnam to impose harsh punishments on illegal fishing

Hanoi (VNA) – A captain who fishes illegally will see his boat driving licence revoked and his vessel banned from fishing, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan.

Tuan mentioned the punishment at a ministry press conference in Hanoi on April 3, stating that the body will crack down on the problem. 

The official said inter-sector working groups have been established to join local monitoring of illegal fishing, recording a reduced number of violations.

Concerning Vietnam’s efforts to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, he said a high-ranking delegation from his ministry, led by Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong, visited the EU to discuss how the country has worked to address the issue to clear the European Commission (EC)’s “yellow card”.

Vietnam received a “yellow card” from the EC because of its failure to meet standards over IUU fishing on October 23, 2017 and was given six months to rectify the situation.

Tuan noted that the EU acknowledged Vietnam’s efforts but pointed to some shortcomings. An EC delegation will visit Vietnam this April to examine the work so far, he added.

Regarding the US’s imposition of anti-dumping duties on tra fish, Deputy Director of Directorate of Fisheries Nguyen Quang Hung said this was an unreasonable action.

He said his directorate and the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) are working with businesses and other relevant sectors to appeal against the judgment at the Court of International Trade.

In the 13th administrative review (POR13), the US imposed an anti-dumping tax on Vietnamese tra fish five to six times higher than the previous tax, which was 0.69 USD per kilo.

According to VASEP, Vietnamese businesses are not dumping. The selling price of Vietnamese tra fish is cheaper than American fish because inputs such as labour and production conditions are cheaper than in the US.

“The US’s decision is unilateral and unfair, not matching the rules of the World Trade Organisation. We do not exclude the possibility that we will seriously consider bringing this case to international arbitration," said Tuan.

He said Vietnam will increase bilateral and multilateral meetings to negotiate trade, showing its efforts in respect to principles of international trade and mutual benefits of sides involved.-VNA