Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy PrimeMinister Le Van Thanh affirmed Vietnam’s all-out efforts to fight and eradicateillegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing while meeting with an inspectiondelegation of the European Commission (EC) in Hanoi on October 28.

The host said the European Union (EU)has become a leading partner of Vietnam in various spheres, especially trade,investment, and development cooperation.

He appreciated the recommendationsby the EC’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries to help Vietnam deal with IUU fishing, noting that most of these recommendationsmatch the country’s policy of promoting responsible fisheries and sustainabledevelopment of the industry.

Thanhunderlined that Vietnam has been making all-out efforts to handle the EC’srecommendations in the best possible manner to develop a sustainable,responsible, and well-controlled seafood fishing industry. He also reaffirmedthe strong commitment and joint efforts by authorities, fishermen, andbusinesses to prevent, end, and eradicate IUU fishing.

However,the Deputy PM noted, Vietnam’s fishing grounds in the East Sea are affected bymany factors while its resources remain modest, so the IUU fishing combat needsgreat efforts, a roadmap, and time to sustainably put an end to the IUU fishing.

Giventhis, he called on the EC and EU member states to keep close cooperation with andtimely technical assistance for Vietnam, with specific features of the country’sfisheries industry taken into account, to implement the recommendations.

Heasked the EC to recognise Vietnam’s efforts against IUU fishing and thepositive results obtained, and to lift the “yellow card” warning for thecountry.

Atthe meeting, Roberto Cesari, head of the anti-IUU fishing unit of the EC’s Directorate-Generalfor Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said fighting IUU fishing is anincreasing priority in the EU’s agenda, and that the bloc views this as a toppriority in its and each of its members’ cooperation with partner countries.

Thedelegation highly values Vietnam’s efforts to engage the entire politicalsystem in drastic and methodological measures to combat IUU fishing, he said,noting that through random examination of coastal localities, the delegation hasseen considerable progress and improvements in anti-IUU fishing actions,including boosting information transparency and improving capacity for fisheriesmanagement personnel in 28 coastal localities.

Itperceived that Vietnam has taken drastic actions at the central level as seenin the issuance of many legal regulations, mechanisms, and policies for IUUfishing prevention, but the enforcement at the grassroots level is still weak.

Inthe time ahead, the country should have effective management mechanisms withstrict legal regulations, ensure consistent and uniform enforcement from thecentral to local levels, stringently deal with all violations, devise anall-round plan for managing fishery resources and strictly controlling theimport of fishery materials for export processing, and eradicate fishermen’sinfringement of foreign waters, Cesari said.

Thedelegation is set to make another examination and assessment trip to Vietnam inthe next six months, the official added./.