The Vietnamese Government has agreed to accede to the Agreement on Port State Measure (PSMA) to prevent, deter and eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU Fishing) (12-07-2018)
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was assigned to coordinate with the concerned agencies in implementing the PSMA in compliance with the current regulations.
The PSMA Agreement was approved by the FAO Conference at its 36th Session in 2009. The Agreement was open for signature at FAO from 22 Nov 2009 to 21 Nov 2010 by all States and regional economic integration organizations. Up to May 2018, 54 States and one Member Organization (EU) have deposited their instruments to adhere to the Agreement. The PSMA is an important tool on fighting against IUU fishing.
On 23 October 2017, European Commission announced officially on its warning of yellow card for Viet Nam due to country’s not enough efforts on preventing and eliminating IUU Fishing. The yellow card is not only a challenge for Vietnamese seafood processing and exporting industry but also causes a negative effect on Vietnamese seafood image on the world market. After 6 months of implementing EC’s nine recommendations related to combating IUU fishing, in May 2018, EC’s working delegation visited Viet Nam for inspecting the country’s implementation of its recommendations. Even though Viet Nam has paid efforts on fulfilling recommendations on revising and strengthening the implementation of legal framework to comply with international and regional regulations, EC working delegation concluded that there were still many challenges for Viet Nam on solving IUU fishing, especially in the control of fishing activities and traceability. The Monitoring, Surveillance and Control system of Viet Nam did not fully control the in port and out port activities or catch products’ origin certification.
Besides, the working delegation also suggested Viet Nam to early accede the FAO’s Agreement on Port State Measures and the United Nations Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks. By this way, Viet Nam will take full responsibilities of port State and flag State in preventing, deterring and eliminating IUU fishing to ensure the long term conservation and sustainable use of living marine resource and marine ecosystems and develop a responsible and sustainable fishery.
Huong Tra