As significant seafood trade partners, South Korea supports Vietnam’s efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, as recommended by the European Commission (EC), affirmed Kang Do-hyung, South Korea’s Minister of Oceans and Fisheries.
Minister Kang Do-hyung emphasized that Vietnam is one of South Korea’s major seafood trade partners. Specifically, Vietnam was the third-largest seafood exporter to South Korea, with an export value of approximately $800 million in 2023, with main export items including shrimp and octopus. Vietnam is also the fifth-largest importer of South Korean seafood, with an import value of around $240 million in 2023. The South Korean government plans to collaborate with large companies such as Lotte Mart in Ho Chi Minh City to implement seafood trade promotion programs combined with providing restaurant services.
Beyond trade, cooperation between South Korea and Vietnam is expanding into aquaculture technology and techniques. The National Institute of Fisheries Science of South Korea and the Research Institute for Aquaculture under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development are implementing a “Technical cooperation project to enhance aquaculture productivity” in the northern provinces of Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh. The project runs from 2022 to 2026, with a total budget of 3 billion won. This project aims to restore mollusk farming activities in the northern coastal areas of Vietnam, where production has recently declined sharply due to overfishing and environmental pollution. The project aims to provide technical support and technology to improve the productivity of mollusk farming in mangrove swamp areas.
Regarding regulations related to combating IUU fishing, Minister Kang Do-hyung stated that IUU activities pose a significant threat to the sustainable development of fisheries and cannot be resolved by the efforts of a single country alone. Minister Kang Do-hyung noted that South Korea has been making efforts, both domestically and internationally, to eliminate IUU fishing activities. He expressed hope that South Korea and Vietnam would build partnerships and work together to prevent IUU fishing and develop a sustainable fisheries industry.
VFM
