Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong asked localities to be more aggressive in handling violating fishing vessels and to speed up the implementation of the Fisheries Law, which took effect earlier this year.
According to the General Department of Fisheries, since the beginning of the year, there have been 16 cases with 26 ships illegally exploiting seafood in foreign waters. 78% of fishing vessel owners have yet to submit fishing logs. By the end of May, the EC's Inspection Team will continue their visit to Vietnam to check the situation. If the results don't meet the Committee's recommendations, the EC may even issue a red card, which can lead to a trade ban on fishery products.
