Electronic traceability for seafood helps improve statistics and traceability for seafood harvested in Vietnam’s waters, creating favourable conditions and improving efficiency for fishermen and businesses. — Vietnam News
HANOI: The electronic catch documentation and traceability system (eCDT) is an application to monitor and ensure transparency and legality in certifying the origin of domestic fisheries products to satisfy European Commission requirements.
Electronic traceability for seafood helps improve statistics and traceability for seafood harvested in Vietnam’s waters, creating favourable conditions and improving efficiency for fishermen and businesses.
Vu Duyen Hai, deputy director of the Fisheries Department under the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry, said that the implementation of the eCDT software system helps agencies better manage the domestic fishing fleet and landing output in various parts of the country more efficiently, even if fishing boats dock and unload at different ports.
At the same time, it also helps increase the responsibility of fishermen and businesses in meeting regulations on combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
“Using this system, fishermen, port management boards, border guards, fisheries departments and export businesses can save production costs and resources to carry out procedures following legal regulations,” Hai said.
According to the department, coastal provinces and cities have deployed the eCDT system at 80 fishing ports and fish landing points.
The department has issued accounts to five categories in the system related to seafood exploitation that covers processing and the export chain – fishermen, port management boards, the border guard, fisheries sub-departments, and export enterprises.
Agriculture and Rural Development departments of provinces and cities have directed affiliated units to organise training for fishermen to use the software.
Coastal cities and provinces have organised personnel and equipment at fishing ports to support fishermen entering and exiting ports.
Nguyen Van Ba, head of Khanh Hoa Province’s Hon Ro Fishing Port Management Board, said that the application of digital technology in fisheries management is an inevitable trend.
“When using the app well, management units will save a lot of time, labour, and costs, especially in the matter of the transparency of seafood-product origin,” said Ba. — Viet Nam News/ANN
