Kien Giang (VNA) – Some 3,360 fishing vessels or 84 percent of the total in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang had been equipped with the vessel monitoring systems as of late May, according to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Relevant agencies have been asked to complete the installation of the systems on all local fishing vessels and impose strict punishments on violators, as part of the measures to prevent, mitigate and put an end to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and unlawful entry into foreign waters.
A delegation will work with nearly 150 owners of over 220 vessels to raise awareness of turning the systems on round the clock.
The move is expected to help lift the “yellow card” warning of the European Commission (EC) on Vietnamese seafood products since October 2017.
Kien Giang reported 106 violating vessels last year.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, due to the “yellow card”, Vietnam’s seafood exports to the EU fell by 6.5 percent to 390 million USD in 2018 and 11.5 percent to 345.2 million USD in 2019.
From being the second-largest import market for Vietnam’s seafood, after the “yellow card” the EU dropped to the fifth and its imports have decreased from 18 percent to 13 percent of Vietnam’s total exports./.
VNA
