The European Commission decided to give Vietnam a “yellow card” on Monday 23 October as it feels that that country is not doing enough to combat illegal fishing. Vietnam now risks being added to the list of non-cooperating countries in efforts against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Among the shortcomings identified by the Commission are the lack of an effective sanctioning system to deter IUU fishing activities and a lack of action to address illegal fishing activities conducted by Vietnamese vessels in waters of neighbouring countries, including Pacific small island developing states. Furthermore, Vietnam has a poor system to control landings of fish that is processed locally before being exported to international markets, including the EU.
Action plan proposed. “We invite the Vietnamese authorities to step up their fight so we can reverse this decision quickly. We are offering them our technical support”, European Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella stated. An action plan has been proposed to support Vietnam in addressing the identified shortcomings. The country now has six months to make improvements. Thereafter, the Commission could either lift the warning (“green card”), or set a deadline for improvement or propose that the Council take a tougher line and impose a total or partial ban on the import of fisheries from Vietnam (“red card”).
In total, 25 yellow cards have been issued by the EU since 2012, including against Thailand. At present, a ban is in place on the import of fisheries products from Cambodia, Comoros (see EUROPE 11874) and St Vincent and the Grenadines (see EUROPE 11827) into the EU.