FOCUS ON ETHICAL ISSUES in seafood

VIETNAM PROFILE

Main seafood products and export trends

Vietnams seafood exports have expanded sharply in recent years, reaching

approximately US$ 8 billion in value, and 6.8 million tonnes by weight in 2014 (an
increase of some 40% in the five-year period since 2009). It has now become one of
the worlds top five global seafood producers and exporters.

The main seafood products in Vietnam are pangasius, tuna, shrimp and marine fish.
By value, the structure of export products in 2012 was frozen shrimp (36.5%),
pangasius (28.4%), other fish (14.5%), molluscs (9.5%), tuna (9.3%), and other
crustacea (1.9%). By value, the EU accounted for some 18.5% of all seafood exports.
The country is also an important producer of processed products.

Around a million metric tonnes (MT) of pangasius is harvested in some 5,500

hectares. In 2014, pangasius exports reached US$ 1.7 billion, up 0.4% on the
previous year, and accounting for more than a quarter of all seafood exports. The EU
was the largest pangasius importer, accounting for over 19% of all Vietnamese
seafood exports, followed by the U.S.

Vietnam has over 600,000 hectares of shrimp farming, with the two main species of
black tiger shrimp and whiteleg shrimp. It is the worlds leading producer of black
tiger shrimp, now reaching some 300,000 MT per year. Overall shrimp exports in
2014 reached US$3.95 billion, up 27% over the previous year. Whiteleg shrimp
exports doubled those of black tiger shrimp to reach US$ 2.3 billion, up 46.3% over
2013.

Tuna fisheries have developed quite rapidly in recent years, rising ten times in value
between 2000 and 2011, as Vietnam has been increasing its influence in offshore
areas and focusing on high value species 1. The export volume has exceeded
domestic tuna catch since 2007. In 2014, Vietnam earned US$ 484.2 million from its
tuna exports to 97 different markets. The U.S., EU and ASEAN countries were the
top three global markets. Vietnams tuna resources are estimated at over 600,000
MT, with skipjack as the major species, accounting for more than half the total
pelagic fish stocks. Skipjack tuna is caught year-round, while yellowfin and bigeye
tuna are caught during the six month period from December to June. In 2011, there
were 2,521 fishing boats with engines of higher than 50 HP.

Other significant seafood exports include cephalapods, crab, surimi and bivalve
molluscs. The Vietnamese Association of Seafood Exports and Producers (VASEP)
provides detailed export statistics for all of these seafood products on a quarterly
basis.

By 2013, there were 567 recorded seafood processing plants, some 450 of which
were qualified for exporting to the EU. Many of these products (with a value-added
1
Data taken from Than Viet Nguyen, Vietnamese Tuna Fisheries Profile, Western and Central Pacific
Fisheries Commission (WCPFC)/Department of Capture Fisheries and Fisheries Resources Protection
(DECAFIREP), Hanoi, November 2012. https://www.wcpfc.int/system/files/PLI-VNM-03-
%5BConsultancy-report-(Y3)-Vietnam-Tuna-Fishery-Profile-Nov2012%5D.pdf
Seafish ethics profile Vietnam. September 2015

ratio estimated at a minimum of 45%) are accepted by big supermarket chains in the
EU, Japan and the US.

Seafood exports to UK

In recent years the bulk of UK imports from Vietnam have been shrimp and
processed shrimp, followed by smaller amounts of crab, tuna, Nephrops, cod and
haddock. By value, the respective amounts for 2014 were: warm water shrimps and
prawns (over UK 25 million); prepared and preserved shrimps and prawns (just over
UK 16 million); crabs (just over UK 3 million); tuna (almost UK 1.3 million);
Nephrops (almost UK 600,000); cod (UK 432,000); and haddock (UK 207,000).
Altogether, UK imports from Vietnam were the 12th largest in 2013 (over 24,500
tonnes valued at over UK 80 million).

Employment in seafood

The total labour force in Vietnamese fisheries has been estimated at around 4.5
million, some 670,000 of these in aquaculture.

In the tuna industry, it has been estimated that between 8 and 10 persons work on
each fishing boat. With a total capacity of some 1,900 tuna vessels in 2012, this
would amount to between 16,200 and 19,000 persons employed in tuna fishery.

Seafood processing has generated considerable employment over the past two
decades, some three quarters of this for women. While recent figures could not be
found, earlier analysis points to the importance of this industry for job creation and
poverty alleviation 2.

Human trafficking and forced labour indicators, rankings and reports

Vietnam is ranked in Tier 2 in the U.S. Governments 2015 Trafficking in Persons 3

(TIP) report. It is identified as a major source country for men, women and children
subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour within the country and abroad. Fishing
is only mentioned specifically with regard to employment abroad. The report
mentions that some Vietnamese migrate abroad for work independently or through
state-owned, private or joint-stock labour export recruitment companies; and that
some are subsequently subjected to forced labour in a range of economic sectors
including fishing, in Asian and other destination countries.

Vietnam is ranked No. 89 in Australia-based Walk Free Foundation 2014 Global

Slavery Index 4 with an estimated 322,200 persons in modern slavery. It highlights
that Vietnam adopted a comprehensive anti-trafficking law in 2012.

2
Eg. Dao Thanh Hong and Quan Vu Le, Analysis of policy changes in the seafood processing industry
in Vietnam, Pacific Economic Review 13:5 (2008), pp. 521-549.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-0106.2008.00417.x/abstract
3
United States Trafficking in Persons Report 2015 http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/
4
Global Slavery Index 2014 http://d3mj66ag90b5fy.cloudfront.net/wp-
content/uploads/2014/11/Global_Slavery_Index_2014_final_lowres.pdf

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Seafish ethics profile Vietnam. September 2015

Human rights NGOs have documented cases of severe labour abuse in other sectors
of Vietnams export economy, particularly garments 5. No NGO reports have yet come
to light, alleging such violations within the fishing or seafood industry in Vietnam itself.
However, concerns have been expressed internationally about low wages in Asian
shrimp production relative to subsistence needs, in Asian countries including Vietnam.
In September 2014, the Netherlands-based NGO Fairfood published a report on this
subject 6. While focusing mainly on Thailand, it also addressed concerns in Vietnam
and elsewhere. In Vietnam, as in India and Thailand, it claims that average wages in
the shrimp industry are only some 70% of the living wage.

Ratification of international human rights and labour instruments

United Nations treaties and procedures
Vietnam has ratified the majority of the UNs main human rights instruments,
including:
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1982)
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1982)
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination (1982)
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(1982)
Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990)
Convention against Torture and other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment (2015).
Vietnam has also accepted a number of visits by UN experts under its special
procedures, addressing different thematic human rights concerns, and formulating
recommendations.

International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions 7

Vietnam has ratified 18 ILO Conventions (17 of which are still in force), including five
of the ILOs eight core human rights Conventions. These are one on forced labour,
two on child labour and its worst forms, and two on equality of treatment and non-
discrimination at the workplace. The ILOs country office in Hanoi states that the
Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) has recently put forward a
Roadmap for ratifications of ILO Conventions, in which it planned to review the two
core Conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining. Besides the
general review of relevant ILO Conventions, Vietnamese constituents (employers
organisations and trade unions) have sought ILO technical guidance as to how
various ILO Conventions could assist national legal reforms on issues including trade
union rights and the Labour Code.

5
An example is the report Labor Rights Violations in Vietnams Export Manufacturing Sector, Workers
Rights Consortium, US, May 2013. http://www.usfashionindustry.com/pdf_files/WRC-Report-
Vietnam.pdf
6
Caught in a Trap: The story of poverty wages behind Asian shrimp sold in European supermarkets,
Fairfood International, Amsterdam, 2014. http://www.fairfood.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Caught-
in-a-trap.pdf
7
The International Labour Organizations Fundamental Conventions
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---
declaration/documents/publication/wcms_095895.pdf

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Fisheries policy and management

There are four main fishing areas in Vietnam: the Gulf of Tonkin, shared with China;
the Central area; the South-eastern area; and the South-western area (part of the
Gulf of Thailand), shared with Cambodia and Thailand. Fishing zones are further
divided into inshore, coastal and offshore zones. Vietnamese marine fisheries are
regulated according to the size of the boat engine and location of the fishing activity,
and the procedure for obtaining licenses is considered to be relatively straightforward.

Since 2007 the earlier ministry of fisheries has become a Directorate in the Ministry
of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). The General Fisheries Office (usually
referred to as the Directorate of Fisheries DOF) has a number of sub-departments
covering issues including: international cooperation, aquaculture, inspection, capture
fisheries and resource protection, a fisheries information centre, and the Vietnam
Institute of Fisheries Economics and Planning (VIFEP). A quality assurance
department (NAFIQAD) has a key role in certification and traceability, including at the
factory level. Moreover, a Vietnam Certification Centre (QUACERT) is authorised to
provide services including certification of management systems to international
standards, as well as the development of national certification labels. Its certifications
such as VietGap are approved internationally.

Two agencies are responsible for monitoring, control and surveillance in Vietnams
sea area. The Vietnam Marine Police is the countrys coastguard, providing
protection and assistance to fishers where necessary. Fisheries inspection, falling
under the Directorate of Fisheries, had 92 patrol boats in 2012 with a total capacity of
21,000 HP.

At the level of seafood producers and employers, there are organisations providing
high quality information and statistics. The Vietnam Association for Seafood
Exporters and Processors (VASEP), unites some 80% of these companies, and is
generally seen as far stronger than any similar body in other Asian countries. It
conducts lobbying activities for its members on government policies, and also
increases the visibility of Vietnamese seafood in international markets.

Vietnam has adopted some long range policies for the seafood sector and its
sustainability, covering both overall fisheries and aquaculture through to 2020. As
described by a paper prepared for Canadas Research Council in 2012, these have
some difference in emphasis 8. The overall fisheries policy appears to lay emphasis
on large-scale aquaculture enterprises for industrial production, likely to imply some
loss of employment, and a shift away from the community-based aquaculture that
has been a feature of Vietnamese production.

Overall Risk Assessment

Available data suggests that the overall risk assessment for Vietnam, at least with
regard to serious forms of labour abuse in seafood production, is medium to low.

8
Matthew Gaudreau, Laurel Schut and Ann Wilkings, Fisheries Transitions in Vietnam: a Path Towards
(un)Sustainability?, Working Paper No. 1, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada,
12 May 2012. https://melissamarschke.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/fisheries-transitions-in-
vietnam_final.pdf

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Seafish ethics profile Vietnam. September 2015

Though quite significant levels of trafficking for both labour and sexual exploitation
have been documented by such sources as the US TIP reports, these have not been
identified specifically in the seafood industry.

A key factor is the essential absence of migrant workers in the seafood industry.
Though abuses have been documented by labour brokers, these relate mainly to
Vietnamese workers seeking work abroad. The Government has been taking steps to
improve protection for Vietnamese migrant fishers in the deep water fisheries (DWF)
of other countries, for example on Taiwanese and Taiwanese-flagged vessels.

Some concerns have been expressed about employment conditions, particularly

wage levels, in the rapidly growing aquaculture and seafood processing industries.
There are indications that Government policies will give continued priority to their
modernisation, and their concentration into larger production units. No reports have
come to light about abusive contractual systems. But UK importers should be
watchful about working conditions in this highly dynamic sector. They are advised to
document working hours and wage rates, comparing these with the real cost of living.
They should also be alert to policies and ongoing policy reforms on freedom of
association and trade union rights, and the extent to which there may be attempts to
create independent worker organizations in the seafood processing sector. This may
be a low risk area at present, but should be identified as potential risk in broader
horizon scanning.

For further information

United States Trafficking in Persons Report 2015 http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/
The Department places each country in this Report onto one of four tiers, as
mandated by the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act (TVPA). This placement is based
more on the extent of government action to combat trafficking than on the size of the
countrys problem. The analyses are based on the extent of governments efforts to
reach compliance with the TVPAs minimum standards. Tier one is the best ranking
and Tier 3 the worst.
Global Slavery Index 2014 http://d3mj66ag90b5fy.cloudfront.net/wp-
content/uploads/2014/11/Global_Slavery_Index_2014_final_lowres.pdf
The Global Slavery Index estimates the prevalence of modern slavery country by
country, the absolute number by population, how governments are tackling modern
slavery, and what factors explain or predict the prevalence of modern slavery.
Rankings range from 1 to 167 - with 1 the worst and 167 the best, in terms of the
prevalence of the population in modern slavery. This is based on three factors:
estimated prevalence of modern slavery by population, levels of child marriage and
levels of human trafficking into and out of the country. This gives a weighted
measure.
The International Labour Organizations Fundamental Conventions
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---
declaration/documents/publication/wcms_095895.pdf
Ratifications of fundamental Conventions and Protocols by country
http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:10011:0::NO::P10011_DISPL
AY_BY,P10011_CONVENTION_TYPE_CODE:1,F

This is an information service provided by Seafish for industry and key stakeholders. To the
best of our knowledge this information is factually correct at the date of publication.

For further information contact:

Karen Green, Industry Issues and Communications, Seafish
E: karen.green@seafish.co.uk T: 01480 431500 M: 07515 993499

Seafish Industry Authority, T: 01472 252300 Our mission: supporting a profitable,

5 Origin Way, Europarc, W: www.seafish.org sustainable and socially responsible future
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