The Directorate of Fisheries eases the challenges faced by seafood export businesses

The D- Fisheries (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) has recently issued Official Letter No. 2437/TS-KTTS regarding the implementation of seafood material certification (SC certificate) and wild-caught seafood certification (CC certificate) to local departments in coastal provinces, cities, and fishery port management organizations.

The D- Fisheries, in this official letter, requests that local departments strictly adhere to the issuance of certificates for seafood materials and legally caught seafood, as per the regulations outlined in Circular No. 21/2018/TT-BNNPTNT and Circular No. 01/2022/TT-BNNPTNT from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The legal validity and accuracy of the attached SC document in the application for certificate issuance, issued by the responsible authority, are subject to legal accountability. Other regulatory agencies are not permitted to require the enterprise to verify the legal validity and accuracy of this document.

To address the European Commission’s (EC) yellow card warning, Vietnam has introduced a series of regulations in the fisheries sector since 2017 and continues to amend and expand them in response to the EC’s growing demands. The new regulations and implementation measures have led to significant improvements. However, the improper implementation of these management requirements in some areas has created significant challenges for fishermen and businesses.

Recently, the Fisheries Department has received feedback from seafood export companies about difficulties in obtaining certifications for wild-caught seafood and certificates of origin. These issues stem from some local departments and fishing ports not following current regulations or applying them too rigidly, adding requirements beyond the legal provisions.

VFM