US embassy cable - 03HANOI636

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 HANOI 000636 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIS, SENV, OTRA, VM, APEC 
SUBJECT: U.S.-VIETNAM FISHERIES CONSULTATIONS 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  A USG fisheries delegation led by the U.S 
Department of Commerce NOAA Fisheries and including 
STATE/OES and others met with Vietnamese fisheries officials 
and visited several fisheries-related activities in and near 
Hanoi the week of March 10.  Both sides gained insight into 
opportunities for future cooperation through the talks. 
While the U.S. government is not in a position to provide 
financial assistance to the Vietnamese fisheries sector, 
there are many ways technical assistance on capacity 
building may take place.  A Vietnamese delegation will visit 
the U.S. in April 2003 and Vietnam will host the annual 
meetings of the APEC Fisheries Working Group and the APEC 
Marine Resources Conservation Working Group the week of June 
9, 2003.  These events will continue to build understanding 
of what Vietnam's fisheries sector can expect in the 
international arena, and how U.S. fishery officials can best 
assist Vietnam in sustainable development of its capture 
fisheries and its aquaculture programs.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  The 2003 Fisheries Consultations Between Vietnam and the 
United States were held on March 10-13, 2003, in Hanoi, 
Vietnam.  The Vietnamese delegation was led by Dr. Vu Van 
Trieu, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Fisheries (MOFI) 
International Cooperation Department, and the U.S. 
delegation was led by Dr. Rebecca Lent, Deputy Director for 
Regulatory Affairs, U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. 
 
3.  The meeting between Vietnam and the United States began 
with a courtesy visit with Minister of Fisheries, Dr. Ta 
Quang Ngoc, who warmly welcomed U.S. delegates and stressed 
the importance of the fisheries relationship between Vietnam 
and the United States.  The head of the U.S. delegation 
expressed thanks to the Ministry of Fisheries for hosting 
this meeting and spoke briefly of the similar challenges 
faced by the United States and Vietnam in conserving and 
managing our respective living marine resources. 
 
OPENING REMARKS 
 
4.  Dr. Vu Van Trieu, Deputy Director of the MOFI 
International Cooperation Department welcomed the delegation 
from the United States and noted work by Vietnam to address 
fisheries sector development, including on-going efforts to 
restructure the fisheries sector to promote aquaculture and 
increase deep-water fishing operations.  Dr. Trieu stressed 
the importance of non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and 
International Organization assistance in these efforts.  In 
addition, he noted that increased bilateral and multilateral 
cooperation will bring increased market access, better 
management, and technology transfer to Vietnamese fisheries. 
Finally, Dr. Trieu briefly reviewed the history of the 
fisheries relationship between Vietnam and the United States 
and stressed the value of continued and enhanced fisheries 
cooperation between the two countries. 
 
5.  Dr. Lent thanked the Ministry of Fisheries for their 
efforts in organizing and hosting this meeting.  She 
stressed the similar nature of the challenges faced by the 
United States and Vietnam in conserving and managing our 
living marine resources and noted the value of cooperation 
in addressing these common challenges.  Dr. Lent requested 
that Vietnam provide specific ideas for future cooperation 
between our two countries.  Mr. Charles Ehler, Director of 
the International Program Office at the National Ocean 
Service, NOAA, presented a brief description of the 
cooperation already underway between Vietnam and the 
National Ocean Service in the Gulf of Tonkin.  This work 
focuses on capacity building in the Ha Long Bay area to 
promote further development of the marine protected area and 
integrated coastal zone management, including inshore 
fisheries. 
 
VIETNAMESE FISHERIES IN 2002 
 
6.  Ms. Tran Thi Mieng, Vice Director of the MOFI Planning 
and Investment Department, provided an overview of the 
Vietnamese fisheries.  The first part of this presentation 
related to the current economic situation in Vietnamese 
fisheries, focusing on achievements in resource protection, 
aquaculture, and fisheries export and processing.  The 
second part of the presentation looked at the Vietnamese 
plan for areas of future development until the year 2010. 
It included recommendations for U.S. support in areas 
related to training in fisheries monitoring and safety at 
sea, aquaculture, U.S. import/export laws and regulations, 
and fisheries conservation and management. 
 
7.  Dr. Vu Van Trieu, Deputy Director of the MOFI 
International Cooperation Department, then provided an 
overview of international cooperation relating to the 
fisheries sector.  He noted that Vietnam receives large 
contributions from various sources for fisheries sector work 
and provided detailed lists of past, on-going, and possible 
future donor projects.  Dr. Trieu stressed the importance of 
these funding sources to Vietnam and encouraged the United 
States to provide assistance for new projects. 
 
POTENTIAL AREAS OF COOPERATION 
 
8.  Mr. Nguyen Van Chau, Director of the MOFI Fisheries 
Resources Protection Department summarized the current 
situation with regard to Vietnamese fisheries resource 
protection.  This presentation included an overview of 
fisheries resources in Vietnam, information on fishing fleet 
trends, and activities designed to restructure and improve 
the fisheries sector in Vietnam.  It also touched on work 
that Vietnam would like to do concerning fisheries resource 
protection (including integration of management at various 
levels, community-based management, marine protected area 
and endangered species management, and vessel management) 
and enforcement and safety at sea (including vessel 
enforcement and accident/emergency response). 
 
9.  Dr. Nguyen Van Thanh, Deputy Director of the MOFI 
Fisheries Department, provided an overview of some potential 
areas of future fisheries cooperation between the United 
States and Vietnam.  Specifically, Vietnam would like work 
on aquaculture (including environmental protection in 
aquaculture, seed production technology, farming technology, 
and human resources training). 
 
10.  The US Delegation responded to these proposals by 
noting that the Vietnamese presentations were informative 
and helpful in understanding the specific areas of possible 
cooperation between the two countries.  Given the difficult 
budget situation in U.S. federal agencies, there will be a 
need to be creative in selecting activities that build upon 
existing programs.  Dr. Lent noted that in addition to the 
National Marine Fisheries Service, The National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) includes the National 
Ocean Service (NOS), NOAA Research and the National Weather 
Service (NWS).  NOS has a number of cooperative activities 
with Vietnam (see discussion below).  NOAA Research includes 
the Sea Grant Program, which is not only involved in 
aquaculture research, but also provides for training through 
the Sea Grant student-funding program.  The National Weather 
Service is working with its counterpart in Vietnam on flood 
forecasts, and Dr. Lent indicated that NOAA Fisheries would 
make contact with their counterparts at NWS upon their 
return. 
 
11.  In the spirit of working within current programs to the 
maximum extent possible, Dr. Lent suggested that the various 
NOAA Fisheries programs might be able to host visitors from 
Vietnam for 2 to 3 month internships.  These visits could be 
in science centers, regional offices, or at headquarters, 
and cover science, management, enforcement, and other 
topics.  It was noted that these visits would need to be 
funded by Vietnam, for travel and lodging expenses.  The 
National Marine Fisheries Service can assist with 
identifying options for local lodging. 
 
12.  Dr. Lent also noted that the types of aquaculture 
research and technical assistance contained in the 
cooperation proposals might be more appropriate for the 
academic community.  Through the Sea Grant program and other 
avenues, NMFS may be able to assist their colleagues from 
Vietnam in making contact with appropriate university staff. 
 
13.  Dr. Loh-Lee Low described the Fisheries Science Centers 
of National Marine Fisheries Service that have research 
programs that could offer cooperative opportunities for 
Vietnamese scientists. The mission of the Science Centers is 
to conduct scientific research programs to generate the best 
scientific information for understanding and conserving the 
Nation's living marine resources and the environmental 
quality essential for their existence.  The Science Centers 
cover a wide geographical range and diversity of species 
that are bound to cover the scientific interests of 
Vietnamese scientists. 
 
14.  The Centers conduct research on the economically 
important resources and their interactions with ecologically 
related species and their ecosystems. The Centers conduct 
resource surveys and analyze the data with commercial 
fisheries data collected through programs such as the 
Fisheries Observer Programs. The Observer programs place 
biologists to collect scientific data from fishing vessels 
and processing plants.  These survey and data gathering 
programs offer opportunities to train Vietnamese scientists 
on the finer techniques of collecting data for stock 
assessments. 
 
15.  The Centers analyze data to determine the population 
dynamics and status of the stocks and evaluate impacts of 
fishing and effects of environmental change on the resources 
and their ecosystems.  The Centers also have social 
scientists and economists who evaluate impacts of 
alternative fishing strategies on the fishing communities. 
These programs can further offer training opportunities for 
Vietnamese scientists.  While there are many opportunities 
for cooperative programs between our Fisheries Science 
Centers with Vietnam, there are no identifiable financial 
resources that have been set aside to execute such programs. 
However, there may be opportunities for case-by-case 
cooperation when the research interests of some of our 
programs match those of Vietnam. 
 
16.  Mr. Charles Ehler, who serves as the Vice-Chair of the 
World Conservation Union's (acronym is IUCN) World 
Commission on Protected Areas, outlined the responsibilities 
of the National Ocean Service, particularly in the areas of 
coastal management and marine protected management.  He 
pointed out that habitat management is the common link 
between coastal, marine protected area, and fisheries 
management.  He then described progress on an existing two- 
year (2002-2004) NOAA project with the Ministry of 
Fisheries, Institute of Fisheries Economics and Planning 
(Dr. Nguyen Chu Hoi), and IUCN-Vietnam to build capacity for 
integrated coastal management (ICM) in the Gulf of Tonkin, 
with a focus on Ha Long Bay.  Hal Long Bay is one of only 
twelve Marine World Heritage Sites in the world.  It lies 
within a region that will develop significantly over the 
next 10 years.  The project will sponsor a socio-economic 
assessment workshop in Ha Long Bay from 18-20 March, a 
workshop on integrated coastal management in April, and a 
mid-term project evaluation meeting in the United States in 
October.  Mr. Ehler also noted coastal management training 
opportunities for Vietnamese participants in Coastal Zone 
'03, an international conference in Baltimore, Maryland, 
from 13-17 July, and IUCN's World Parks Congress, an 
important meeting of the world's protected area managers and 
scientists, that will be held in Durban, South Africa from 8- 
17 September, 2003. 
 
17.  While the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) was unable to attend 
this meeting, they have expressed a willingness to cooperate 
where possible to address Vietnamese training interests 
relating to fisheries enforcement and safety at sea.  The 
U.S. delegation provided a number of paper and CDROM copies 
of the USCG International Training Management Handbook and 
one possible training pipeline scenario that might be useful 
to Vietnam in its training decisions.  The complete catalog 
is also available at http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g- 
ci/affairs/handbook/index.htm. 
 
18.  While the USCG provides at-sea enforcement in U.S. 
fisheries, the National Marine Fisheries Service Office of 
Law Enforcement is charged with dockside inspections and 
investigation of possible fisheries regulation/law 
infractions.  The U.S. delegation encouraged the Vietnamese 
to consult the provided information and develop specific 
training interests for the future.  It was agreed that the 
U.S. would consult with the Vietnamese MOFI point of contact 
and appropriate USCG and NMFS enforcement personnel to begin 
examining possible future training opportunities and discuss 
funding options. 
 
19.  The U.S. delegation also encouraged Vietnam to join the 
International Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance (MCS) 
Network and committed to providing further information on 
this important enforcement organization.  This is a no-cost 
option for increasing enforcement capability in Vietnam. 
 
20.  Discussing assistance to Vietnamese personnel on U.S. 
export-import laws, regulations and procedures, the U.S. and 
Vietnam reaffirmed the importance of maintaining a 
relationship based on free and fair trade.  Vietnam 
expressed its desire to join the World Trade Organization 
(WTO) as soon as possible.  The United States welcomed this 
news and noted that Vietnam's engagement in a range of 
multilateral and regional fora, such as APEC and the FAO, 
was exactly the right approach to inform its policies and 
gain influence in the world arena.  The U.S. offered to 
assist Vietnam in acceding to the WTO. 
 
21.  The United States highlighted the rapid increase in 
imports of fisheries products from Vietnam as an example of 
expanding commercial relations between the two countries. 
Both the United States and Vietnam acknowledged that recent 
trade frictions were business-to-business matters and do not 
reflect policy differences on trade relations between Hanoi 
and Washington, D.C. 
 
22.  The U.S. trade regime was characterized as open and 
transparent.  The United States agreed to help Vietnam 
better understand its trade system where possible, including 
through bilateral exchanges of information such as these 
talks provide.  The United States considered it worth noting 
that the U.S. administration, including the Executive Branch 
Agencies of the Department of Commerce and the U.S. 
International Trade Commission are compelled to go forward 
with a trade case once it is initiated and, therefore, the 
Administration has no discretion to halt the process. 
Vietnam expressed their desire that this case be addressed 
in a fair and accurate manner. 
 
23.  Both sides shared their experiences and views regarding 
the interruption of imports caused by issues related to 
antibiotic residues.  Vietnam expressed its interest in 
receiving training in the area of food safety and sanitary 
and phyto-sanitary (SPS) measures. 
 
24.  Finally, it was pointed out that the Vietnam Embassy 
and Consulates in the United States can help Vietnam with 
its exports to the United States.  At the same time, the 
U.S. Embassy in Hanoi can assist with imports from the 
United States. 
 
U.S. PROPOSALS/REPORTS 
 
25.  The U.S. encouraged Vietnam to accede to the UN 
Agreement on Fish Stocks and the Food and Agriculture 
Organization (FAO) Compliance Agreement, and to implement 
the FAO International Plans of Action (IPOAs) and the Code 
of Conduct.  The U.S. provided website addresses for copies 
of their NPOAs on sharks, seabirds, capacity and illegal, 
unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU).  Vietnam 
indicated that they were fully aware of the FAO plans of 
action and were implementing these through their various 
activities. 
 
26.  Regarding the Status and Trends issue at FAO, there was 
discussion of how Vietnam can get some assistance in 
improving the quality and quantity of their reporting on 
fisheries.  These efforts will improve the quality of stock 
assessments, which are so critical to improved fishery 
management. 
 
27.  The group reviewed the outcome of the COFI meeting 
discussion regarding FAO-CITES cooperation.  Three documents 
from the meeting were noted:  1) Workplan - completed at 
COFI; 2) The establishment of the advisory body - completed 
at COFI; 3) The MOU - will require further work. 
 
28.  Vietnam noted that they have a sea turtle project 
underway with the assistance of WWF, IUCN, and TRAFFIC. 
Vietnam has a number of protected areas that are nesting 
beaches for these sea turtles.  In 1997, Vietnam and other 
ASEAN members signed an MOU on ASEAN Sea Turtle Conservation 
and Protection.  In 2001 Vietnam also signed an MOU on the 
Conservation and Management of Marine Turtles and their 
Habitats of the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia.  Vietnam 
is also developing an NPOA for sea turtles.  Dr. Lent 
expressed appreciation for the activities underway in 
Vietnam regarding sea turtle conservation.  She noted that 
in the United States, a number of fisheries have been 
subjected to severe restrictions, including closures, 
because of sea turtle by-catch.  In many cases, some of the 
species (particularly leatherback and loggerheads) have 
nesting beaches in Vietnam. 
 
29.  The APEC Fisheries Working Group has completed several 
projects that could be useful to address aquaculture 
problems raised by Vietnam.  For example, the 1999 Import 
Risk Assessment project explains detailed procedures that 
can be used to prevent the spread of shrimp virus through 
imported seed, or larvae. 
 
30.  Work is just beginning on a new project, approved at 
the FWG meeting in Lima last year that will look at two 
important studies that should be completed before an 
aquaculture project is started.  One evaluation should look 
at environmental sustainability of an aquaculture project. 
The other evaluation should consider economic 
sustainability.  Economic sustainability can be determined 
by an analysis of domestic and international market demands 
for the planned aquaculture model.  For example, a project 
for salmon aquaculture is probably not a good idea, because 
too many companies are already producing salmon and the 
prices are low. 
 
31.  June 2003, Vietnam will be hosting a joint 
meeting of the APEC Fisheries Working Group and the Marine 
Resources Conservation Working Group.  The two sides 
discussed preparations for these working group meetings and 
for an industry roundtable to be held in conjunction with 
these meetings. 
 
32.  COMMENT: Following the talks, the USDel traveled with 
MOFI staff to visit Provincial officials at Ha Long Bay, in 
Quang Ninh Province.  In talks with People's Committee 
officials and with Provincial fisheries officials, the 
delegation learned more about the Province's plans for the 
future and the problems it faced in implementing them.  A 
boat visit to Ha Long Bay itself, a World Heritage site, 
gave the delegation insights into marine environment user 
conflicts that face the Bay.  The delegation also visited 
Hai Phong City.  There they visited with the Research 
Institute of Marine Fisheries and its fisheries research 
vessel.  The final stop was a visit to the Ha Long Fisheries 
Corporation.  This State-owned enterprise appears to be 
facing severe economic difficulties. 
 
33.  This cable was cleared by OES/OMC:Stetson Tinkham. 
 
PORTER