Optimism precedes EU ruling
Private groups and fish product exporters are sounding upbeat about the EU’s imminent decision on illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.
They insist the Thai government and private sector have made an all-out effort to tackle the issue.
Poj Aramwattananont, president of the Thai Fishery Producers Coalition (TFPC), yesterday said the private sector was feeling positive that the EU would upgrade Thailand’s status.
The government and private sector have done their best to stamp out problems in the fishing industry, be they labour standards, natural resource protection or climate change management, he said.
“We [the private sector] must admire the Thai government’s sincere efforts in tackling the IUU issue through policy, commitment, legal amendments and real execution, while the people and private sector have also shown good cooperation in addressing the issue,” Mr Poj said.
“We’re upbeat that the EU will rescind its yellow card on Thailand or, in the worstcase scenario, maintain its yellow card for Thailand.”
Isara Vongkusolkit, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, speaking in his capacity as chairman of the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking, said the committee and the TFPC had jointly stated they were in strict compliance with the Fisheries Act of 2015 as well as international standards on sustainable production without the use of child labour, human trafficking or exploitation.
The joint committee comprises the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Bankers’ Association.
The TFPC consists of eight associations: the Thai Frozen Food Association, the Thai Food Processors’ Association, the Thai Shrimp Association, the Thai Tuna Industry Association, the National Fishery Association of Thailand, the Thai Overseas Fishery Association, the Thai Fishmeal Association and the Thai Fishmeal Producer Association.
Each group has confirmed its cooperation with and support for all of the policies and activities of the government and amended operations accordingly, Mr Poj said.
He said practices would be in accordance with global standards, with no risk of raw materials derived from IUU contaminating the production chain.
Starting in mid-2015, the Thai government introduced several measures including revisions to the Fisheries Act — which took effect last June — and 31 related laws published in the Royal Gazette. An additional 21 are about to be published.
The Command Center for Combating Illegal Fishing has inspected 317 fishing vessels operating in Thai territorial waters.
The EU, by comparison, requires authorities to examine only 220 or 10% of total vessels in home waters.
Aphisit Techanitisawad, president of the Thai Overseas Fisheries Association, said Thai vessels that fished outside of Thai territorial waters would also be inspected for licensing, labour standards and vessel readiness.
The EU issued Thailand a yellow card last April for failing to tackle IUU practices and threatened to halt imports.
EU representatives will visit next week to assess the progress of Thailand’s antiIUU measures. A ruling is expected early next month.