Thông tư 53/2009/TT-BNNPTNT

CIRCULAR

ON MANAGEMENT OF ALIEN AQUATIC SPECIES IN VIETNAM

THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Pursuant to the 2003 Fisheries Law; Pursuant to the 2008 Biodiversity Law;
Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 01/2008/ND-CP of January 3, 2008, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;
Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 59/ 2005/ND-CP of May 4, 2005, on production and business conditions for a number of fisheries trades, and the Government's Decree No. 14/2009/ND-CP of February 13, 2009, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 59/2005/ND-CP;
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development promulgates the circular on management of alien aquatic species in Vietnam as follows:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application

1. Scope of regulation

This Circular prescribes the management of aquatic species which are intentionally or unintentionally introduced into the Vietnamese territory, have spread in the natural environment or are being raised in a controlled environment (below referred to as alien aquatic organisms).

2. Subjects of application

This Circular applies to domestic and foreign organizations and individuals engaged in the management of alien aquatic organisms in Vietnam.

Article 2. Interpretation of terms

In this Circular, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Alien aquatic organism means an aquatic species introduced from abroad into the Vietnamese territory.

2. Harmful alien aquatic organism means an alien aquatic species that encroaches upon the habitat of, or harms, indigenous species, causing an ecological imbalance in places where it appears and grows.

3. Likely harmful alien aquatic organism means an alien aquatic species that threatens to encroach upon the habitat of, or harm, indigenous species, causing an ecological imbalance in places where it appears and grows.

4. Preservation means bringing alien aquatic organisms to a particular place for care and raising.

5. Local fisheries management agency means a provincial Sub-Department of Aquatic Resource Exploitation and Protection or Aquaculture Sub-Department (for a province which docs not have the Sub-Department of Aquatic Resource Exploitation and Protection) or a provincial-level Fisheries Sub-Department (for a province or city which has none of the above two sub-departments).

6. Owner of alien aquatic organisms means an organization or individual that has the rights to own, use and dispose of alien aquatic organisms (below referred to as owner).

Chapter II

MANAGEMENT OF ALIEN AQUATIC ORGANISMS

Article 3. Survey and listing of alien aquatic organisms

1Local fisheries management agencies shall conduct surveys and make lists of alien aquatic organisms in their localities and report them to provincial-level Agriculture and Rural Development Departments for further submission to provincial-level People's Committees and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. The Aquatic Resource Exploitation and Protection Department shall assume the prime responsibility for. and coordinate with local fisheries management agencies and concerned agencies in. surveying and determining the severity of harms of alien aquatic organisms; and propose the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to promulgate lists of harmless, likely harmful and harmful alien aquatic organisms.

Article 4. Receipt of alien aquatic organisms

1. Owners shall notify local fisheries management agencies of their alien aquatic organisms which they no longer wish to own and hand over them to the latter.

2. Within 5 working days after receiving an owner's notice, a local fisheries management agency shall complete procedures to transfer alien aquatic organisms to units in the province or report such to the Aquatic Resource Exploitation and Protection Department for designation of a unit to receive them when a receiving unit is unavailable in the province.

3. Units to receive alien aquatic organisms include provincial fisheries centers eligible for preservation, national aquatic breed centers under Aquaculture Research Institutes I, II and III and the Fisheries Research Institute or eligible establishments as decided by local fisheries management agencies.

Article 5. Handling of dead or diseased alien aquatic organisms

1. Responsibilities of owners: Within 1 (one) day after an alien aquatic organism dies abnormally or contracts a disease as determined by the person in charge of animal health in a locality, the owner shall report such to the local fisheries management agency by the fastest means of communication.

2. Responsibilities of local fisheries management agencies:

a/ To coordinate, after receiving an owner's notice, with a local animal health agency in conducting on-the-spot examination, making a written record and identifying causes to the death or diseases of alien aquatic organisms;

b/To dispose of dead or diseased alien aquatic organisms under the guidance of Animal Health Sub-Department. Owners shall pay disposal expenses.

c/ To report to provincial-level Agriculture and Rural Development Departments and concerned agencies and concurrently to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (the Aquatic Resource Exploitation and Protection Department) on the disposal of dead or diseased alien aquatic organisms.

Article 6. Management of harmless alien aquatic organisms

1. Owners shall provide information on their alien aquatic organisms when so requested by local fisheries management agencies.

2. Owners shall report to local fisheries management agencies on arising ownership of alien aquatic organisms in any forms (donation, grant or natural immigration).

Chapter III

MANAGEMENT OF LIKELY HARMFUL ALIEN AQUATIC ORGANISMS

Article 7. Responsibilities of owners for management of likely harmful alien aquatic organisms

1. To register preservation under Article 8 of this Circular.

2. To provide information on their likely harmful alien aquatic organisms when so requested by local fisheries management agencies and promptly report on abnormal signs of likely harmful alien aquatic organisms to local fisheries management agencies.

3. To make dossiers on developments of likely harmful alien aquatic organisms under their ownership and management.

4. To submit regular, irregular and annual reports under regulations to local fisheries management agencies. Such reports must cover alien aquatic organisms' practical developments and impacts on biodiversity and indigenous species (reproduction, growth, food competition, attack on indigenous species, diseases, death and other incidents).

5. To be subject to the supervision by competent state management agencies.

6. To be prohibited from releasing likely harmful alien aquatic organisms into the natural environment and reserves at their own will and to be held responsible before law for this act.

Articlc 8. Procedures to register preservation of alien aquatic organisms

1. A preservation registration dossier comprises:

a/ An application for preservation (made according to the form provided in Appendix 1 to this Circular, not printed herein);

b/ A description of the raising technological process, solutions on zoning off for management and the protection system to prevent from spread to the natural aquatic environment.

2. Order of granting certificates of alien aquatic organism preservation:

a/ Competence to grant certificates of alien aquatic organism preservation:

Local fisheries management agencies shall receive preservation registration dossiers under Clause 1, Article 8 of this Circular and grant certificates of alien aquatic organism preservation to owners after getting an evaluation council's conclusions and recommendations for the grant of such certificates.

b/ Setting up of evaluation councils: The local fisheries management agency receiving preservation registration dossiers of owners shall set up an evaluation council.

An evaluation council is composed of the chairperson being the representative of a fisheries management agency and members being representatives of a provincial-level Animal Health Sub-Department. Natural Resources and Environment Department and Fisheries Inspectorate and a relevant aquatic breed agency (provincial-level or national aquatic breed center).

An evaluation council is tasked to examine preservation registration dossiers of owners: examine preservation establishments: make evaluation written records: and propose the grant of preservation certificates to eligible owners under this Circular.

c/ Evaluation duration: Within 10 working days after receiving a complete dossier under Clause 1 of this Article, an evaluation council shall complete the evaluation written record.

d/ Time limit for granting preservation certificates to owners: Within 5 working days after completing an evaluation written record, a local fisheries management agency shall grant a free preservation certificate to the owner (made according to the form provided in Appendix 2 to this Circular, not printed herein). In case of refusal, it shall issue a written reply clearly stating the reason.

Article 9. Responsibilities of specialized fisheries management agencies

1. Zoning off for management

a/ Local fisheries management agencies shall zone off for management, control and collect information on, likely harmful alien aquatic organisms preserved in their localities. They shall coordinate with competent and concerned agencies in surveying and evaluating risks for harms to biodiversity in their localities and proposing appropriate prevention and management methods.

b/ Based on proposals of local fisheries management agencies, the Aquatic Resource Exploitation and Protection Department shall coordinate with concerned scientific agencies in surveying, studying and determining impacts of likely harmful alien aquatic organisms on biodiversity and aquatic resources and propose management solutions to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. Those on the list of likely harmful alien aquatic organisms shall be registered for preservation under Article 8 of this Circular.

Chapter IV

MANAGEMENT OF HARMFUL ALIEN AQUATIC SPECIES

Article 10. Isolation and extermination of spread of harmful alien aquatic organisms

To apply measures to isolate and kill those on the lists of harmful alien aquatic organisms and likely harmful alien aquatic organisms when there are grounds to believe that they are harmful.

Article 11. Responsibilities of management agencies

1. Local fisheries management agencies shall survey and collection information on harmful alien aquatic organisms and report them to competent agencies. Provincial-level People's Committees shall assume the prime responsibility for. and coordinate with concerned agencies in. surveying and locating areas of distribution, elaborating isolation plans and deciding on the extermination of harmful alien aquatic organisms in their localities.

2. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development:

To provide the list of harmful alien aquatic organisms for customs offices and competent agencies at border gates to prevent the introduction of alien aquatic organisms into Vietnam.

To decide on solutions to isolate and kill harmful alien aquatic organisms that spread in two or more provinces.

Article 12. Responsibilities of organizations and individuals

Organizations and individuals that detect harmful alien aquatic organisms shall promptly notify such to grassroots administrations of the nearest locality. After receiving such notice, grassroots administrations shall promptly report it to their immediate superiors or local fisheries management agencies for control and handling.

Chapter V

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 13. Responsibilities of state management agencies

1. The Aquatic Resource Exploitation and Protection Department:

a/ To examine, supervise, guide and direct localities in implementing this Circular.

b/ To review and report on the management of alien aquatic organisms nationwide to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. Local fisheries management agencies:

a/ To monitor and control the spread of alien aquatic organisms on an annual basis, especially harmful ones in their localities. To make and submit general reports to provincial-level Agriculture and Rural Development Departments and the Aquatic Resource Exploitation and Protection Department before December 31 every year.

b/ To coordinate with concerned agencies in propagating harmful alien aquatic organisms and methods to zone off for management, isolate and kill them.

3. Responsibility of customs offices and competent agencies at border gates:

To provide information on alien aquatic organisms introduced into Vietnam when so requested by specialized fisheries management agencies.

Article 14. Funds for management of alien aquatic organisms

1. Funds for management of alien aquatic organisms shall be allocated from budget for non-business environmental activities (under December 29, 2006 Joint Circular No. 114/2006/TTLT-BTC-TNMT of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, guiding the management of funds for non-business environmental activities).

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall allocate funds for the Aquatic Resource Exploitation and Protection Department to examine, supervise, direct and guide the management of alien aquatic organisms: and reserve funds to assess impacts on biodiversity and aquatic resources and isolate and kill harmful alien aquatic organisms spreading in the aquatic environment nationwide.

Provincial-level People's Committees shall allocate funds for activities to manage alien aquatic organisms in their localities.

2. Units that receive alien aquatic organisms transferred from their owners to state management agencies shall pay expenses for transporting and preserving these organisms.

3. Domestic and foreign organizations and individuals engaged in the management of alien aquatic organisms are encouraged to provide financial and technical assistance.

Article 15. Organization of implementation This Circular takes effect on October 1. 2009.

Provincial-level Agriculture and Rural Development Departments and organizations and individuals shall promptly report on any problems or difficulties arising in the implementation of this Circular to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for consideration and decision.-