Drastic solutions taken to address EC’s warning of IUU fishing

Vietnam’s fishing sector will employ drastic solutions to deal with the European Commission (EC)’s warning of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing during the second half of this year, said an official of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). 
Tuna fished off the coast of Phu Yen province (Photo: VNA)
Tuna fished off the coast of Phu Yen province (Photo: VNA)
Speaking at a conference held by the MARD’s Directorate of Fisheries in Hanoi on July 4, Tran Dinh Luan, head of the Directorate, said the sector will keep a close watch on production at sea, focusing on identifying product origin at localities. 

In the field of aquaculture, inspections will centre on food quality and the use of antibiotics, he said. 

Efforts will be made to fulfill the target of seafood output at over 3.9 million tonnes, with an export turnover aim to hit nearly US$6 million over the remaining six months of the year, according to the official. 

MARD Deputy Minister Vu Van Tam underlined the need to increase productivity, reduce prices, and control the use of antibiotics in shrimp and basa fish breeding in order to overcome technical barriers imposed by importers. 

In shrimp farming, the most important task is to apply industrial production methods and high technologies. 

Meanwhile, in basa fish farming, it is necessary to monitor the quality of young fry and manage the market, the official said. 

The Directorate reported that between January and June, the total seafood output exceeded 3.56 million tonnes, of which sea catches posted more than 1.76 million tonnes and aquaculture output was around 1.79 million tonnes. The sector’s export turnover was estimated at US$4.02 billion.

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