Starting January 1, exporters of fisheries products to the EU will be required to have certification for the origin of their products, a rule aimed to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU).

Le Van Hong, director of Ba Hai Seafood Company in Phu Yen Province, said the new regulation would cause a lot of trouble for seafood exporters as between 60 and 70 percent of them use fish that are not bred on farms.

The problem is also that most seafood processors and exporters buy raw material from dealers who collect the catch from various fishing boats, and thus it would be difficult to find out their origin.

Nguyen Van Ky, chairman of Viet Phu Seafood Company in southern Tien Giang Province, said exporters can’t make sure the product origins are properly reported to them. He said the responsibility of providing precise information about their product lies in the hands of fishermen.

But Ky was also worried that there would not be enough time to announce the regulation to fishermen nationwide.

Tran Duy Uy, a fisherman in Nghe An Province, said he had not heard of the new regulation until a few days ago.

“We have never kept journals recording our fishing activities. We only know how to catch fish,” Uy said. “Now that we have to write journals, we just don’t know how to do it. If we do it wrong, can we still sell our fish?”

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vu Van Tam, said although the regulation is “new and hard”, local exporters need to play by the rules as the EU is a key market.

The EU is the largest importer of Vietnam’s seafood products, accounting for 30 percent of total export turnover. More than 300 Vietnamese exporters have ship 41 different products to the bloc.

The ministry would simplify product certification process for exporters and fishermen to the European market, Tam said.