The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has recently issued an official dispatch guiding the issuance of Catch Certificates (CC) and Processing Statements (PS) for seafood shipments exported to the European Union (EU) market.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the issuance of this guidance aims to resolve difficulties arising during the implementation of Circular No. 81/2025/TT-BNNMT dated December 31, 2025, while ensuring compliance with the EU's traceability requirements for Vietnam's caught seafood products.

One of the core contents guided by the Ministry is the method of declaring information on the Catch Certificate (CC). Accordingly, enterprises will continue to utilize the CC form provided in Appendix III issued alongside Circular No. 81. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also provided specific instructions on how to record the weight of raw materials and products in the dossier to ensure uniformity among forms and alignment with the EU's control requirements.

Specifically, the certified raw material weight must reflect the total weight of raw materials put into processing for the shipment, and it must equal the total weight supplied by the fishing vessels for that specific batch. Regarding the seafood product weight of the shipment, the Ministry requires it to accurately display the product weight after processing, excluding additives such as oil, water, powder, or other supplementary ingredients. This regulation aims to ensure transparency in traceability, avoiding discrepancies between input raw materials and exported products.

In addition, the official dispatch reminds enterprises regarding the declaration of the fishing area. According to the guidance, beyond recording the fishing area under the regulations in Appendix VI of Circular No. 81, enterprises must add the phrase “Vietnamese EEZ” as requested by the EU side. The addition of this information is considered an important technical requirement to clearly define the origin of catches within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone, thereby enhancing the credibility of export dossiers with EU control authorities.

For the Processing Statement (PS), the Ministry requires declarations to follow the form in Appendix I of Official Dispatch No. 1808/BNNMT-TSKN dated March 2, 2026. The declared content on the PS must also ensure data consistency. Accordingly, the weight recorded in the columns “Total landed weight (kg)” and “Catch processed (kg)” must equal the raw material weight certified on the CC, which represents the total weight of raw materials put into processing for the shipment. The column “Processed fishery product (kg)” specifically must display the weight of the seafood product after processing, excluding additives, and must match the figures in the column “Seafood product weight of the shipment” within the supplementary information attached to the CC.

The EU is currently one of the largest seafood import markets and holds the most stringent requirements regarding Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. Therefore, regulations related to certifying raw material origins, tracing fishing journeys, and processing dossiers are all closely inspected. If the issuance of CCs and PSs faces bottlenecks or if declared data is inconsistent, enterprises may confront the risk of delayed customs clearance, prolonged export timelines, or even demands for explanations or shipment rejections from the importing side.

To ensure uniform implementation nationwide, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has assigned the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance to preside over and coordinate with the Department of Quality, Processing, and Market Development to organize training courses, provide guidance, and inspect the issuance of CCs and PSs under regulations. The Ministry also requested localities, enterprises, and relevant units to promptly aggregate and report any arising difficulties or bottlenecks during implementation to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for resolution guidance.

Source: Tap chi Thuy san Viet Nam