Rogue fishers could see Vietnam barred from the European Union seafood market. Despite making considerable efforts to halt illegal fishing by 2022, at midyear the country is still hobbled by weak policy administration and lax enforcement of fishing regulations.
Illegal fishing earned Vietnam a yellow card warning from the European Commission in 2017. Non-EU countries that export fish to the EU or lend their flags to vessels that do so must meet strict standards for fisheries management.
If they do not, they may be ‘carded’ and could have their fish excluded from the EU market. In 2019 a global watchdog ranked Vietnam fifth worst in the world for illegal fishing. By 2021 it had improved significantly to 56th worst – but further improvement means tightening its fisheries management across the board.
