Circular No. 13/2020/TT-BNNPTNT amends and supplements certain provisions of Circular No. 21/2018/TT-BNNPTNT dated November 15, 2018 on recording, submitting reports, fishing logs; announcing designated fish ports to confirm the origin of fish from fishing; list of illegal fishing vessels; confirming raw materials, certifying the origin of fish from fishing.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 21/2018/TT-BNNPTNT

dated November 15, 2018 on recording, submitting reports, and fishing logs;

announcing designated fish ports to confirm the origin of fisheries products from fishing;

list of fishing vessels engaged in illegal fishing; confirming

raw materials, certifying the origin of fisheries products from fishing

Pursuant to Decree No. 15/2017/NĐ-CP dated February 17, 2017 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

Pursuant to the Fisheries Law 2017;

At the proposal of the Director General of the Fisheries General Department;

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development promulgates this Circular amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 21/2018/TT-BNNPTNT dated November 15, 2018 on recording, submitting reports, and fishing logs; announcing designated fish ports to confirm the origin of fisheries products from fishing; list of fishing vessels engaged in illegal fishing; confirming raw materials, certifying the origin of fisheries products from fishing (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 21/2018/TT-BNNPTNT).

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 21/2018/TT-BNNPTNT

1. Clause 1 of Article 4 shall be amended as follows:

"1. The captain of fishing vessels with a maximum length of 12 meters or more must record daily fishing logs according to Model No. 01 of Appendix I attached hereto; submit the fishing log to the port management organization before unloading fisheries products at the port."

2. Clause 1 of Article 5 shall be amended as follows:

"1. The captain of purchasing and transshipment vessels must record daily logs of purchasing and transshipping fisheries products according to Model No. 02 of Appendix I attached hereto; submit the log of purchasing and transshipping fisheries products to the port management organization before unloading fisheries products at the port."

3. Clause 2 and Clause 3 of Article 7 shall be amended as follows:

"2. Supervise the unloading of fisheries products at the port. Upon receiving the request to dock at the port from the captain of fishing vessels, the port management organization shall compare with the list of fishing vessels engaged in illegal fishing; if the vessel is listed in the list of fishing vessels engaged in illegal fishing, it shall not be allowed to unload fisheries products and the relevant authority shall be notified for handling according to regulations; if the vessel is not listed in the list of fishing vessels engaged in illegal fishing, it shall be arranged to dock at the port to unload fisheries products and staff shall supervise the quantity and species of fisheries products unloaded at the port.

If the actual quantity of fisheries products unloaded differs by more than 20% from the declared quantity before docking at the port, a record shall be made and handled according to authority or transferred to the competent authority for handling according to regulations.

3. Receipt of fisheries products unloaded at the port

At the request of organizations or individuals purchasing fisheries products, the port management organization shall check the information declared on the Fisheries Product Unloading Receipt Form according to Model No. 02 of Appendix II attached hereto, confirm when the information matches the actual situation of the fishing vessel docking at the port; retain a copy at the port management organization.

Organizations or individuals purchasing fisheries products from each fishing vessel docking at the port shall be issued one Fisheries Product Unloading Receipt Form according to the actual quantity and species purchased."

4. Clause 1 and Point a of Clause 2 of Article 8 shall be amended as follows:

"1. Fishing vessels included in the list of fishing vessels engaged in illegal fishing fall under one of the following cases:

a. Being administratively penalized for violating any of the acts stipulated in Points a, b, c, d, đ, e, g, i, n, and o of Clause 1 of Article 60 of the Fisheries Law;

b. Being administratively penalized for repeated offenses or multiple violations of any of the acts stipulated in Points h, k, l, and m of Clause 1 of Article 60 of the Fisheries Law.

2. Fishing vessels removed from the list of fishing vessels engaged in illegal fishing fall under one of the following cases:

a. Vessels deregistered according to Points a and b of Clause 1 of Article 72 of the Fisheries Law;"

5. Clause 1 of Article 15 shall be amended as follows:

"1. Direct, organize the implementation, and inspect compliance with regulations on combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; confirm raw materials, certify the origin of fisheries products; confirm commitments on raw materials of imported fisheries products for export processing; traceability records of raw materials during the process of sampling food safety inspections, assessment, and certification of exported fisheries products."

6. Clause 8 of Article 17 shall be amended as follows:

"8. Before the 20th day of each month, report to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the General Fisheries Department on the results of confirming raw materials of fisheries products from fishing according to Model No. 03 of Appendix VII attached hereto; retain related files on issuing Fisheries Product Unloading Receipt Forms and confirming raw materials of fisheries products from fishing for a period of 36 months from the date of confirmation. Reissue Fisheries Product Unloading Receipt Forms upon request of organizations or individuals; the number of reissued Fisheries Product Unloading Receipt Forms shall match the original number and have the symbol "R" added at the end of the original number; the validity period of reissued Fisheries Product Unloading Receipt Forms shall be the remaining validity period of the original Fisheries Product Unloading Receipt Forms counted from the date of reissue."

7. Clause 2 of Article 19 shall be amended as follows:

"2. Fully retain files for traceability, distinguishing between processed batches of raw materials, unprocessed batches of raw materials, and raw materials still stored in warehouses of the facility, ensuring that the facility only accepts and processes legally sourced raw materials. Retain files on confirming raw materials of domestic fisheries products, certifying the origin of fisheries products from fishing, and confirming commitments or certifying exported fisheries products with origins from imported fisheries products for a period of 36 months from the date of confirmation or certification. Choose one of the authorities specified in Appendix IV attached hereto to submit application files for certifying the origin of fisheries products from fishing."

8. Replace Model No. 02 of Appendix I with Model No. 01 of Appendix I attached hereto; replace Model No. 02 of Appendix II with Model No. 02 of Appendix II attached hereto; replace Model No. 04 of Appendix II with Model No. 03 of Appendix II attached hereto; replace Model No. 02 of Appendix III with Model No. 04 of Appendix III attached hereto.

Article 2. Transitional Provisions

1. The captain of fishing vessels and transport vessels that have recorded the Fishing and Transport Logbook according to the model specified in Circular No. 21/2018/TT-BNNPTNT before this Circular takes effect shall continue to use it for confirming and certifying seafood for that voyage.

2. Seafood cargo receipt issued before this Circular takes effect shall continue to be used until the expiration date indicated on the issued receipt.

Article 3. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from December 25, 2020.

2. During implementation, if any issues arise or difficulties occur, organizations and individuals shall promptly report them to the Fisheries General Department or the Directorate of Quality Assurance for Forestry, Agriculture and Fisheries Products for consolidation and reporting to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for consideration and decision./.