Thai fishing boats. (Photo: Tsui/CC BY-SA 3.0)

EU audit speeds up fishing sector's thorough checks

THAILAND
Wednesday, October 18, 2017, 02:30 (GMT + 9)

Thai authorities have been urged to boost the fishing sector ahead of a visit by European Union (EU) representatives to audit the country's measures against illegal fishing next month.

The urge came from Agriculture and Co-operatives Minister Gen Chatchai Sarikulya, who stressed he had instructed various agencies to step up efforts to examine the whole fishery process, Bangkok Post reported.

In his view, authorities need to ensure thorough checks on trawlers arriving and departing, and boost efforts to examine the marine animals unloaded as well as verify crew members.

The minister also thinks that efforts also need to be made to enhance understanding among fishing operators of the need to cooperate with the authorities, adding the authorities must work stringently in accordance with the law.

The audit, to be performed by representatives of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE), comes after the EU gave Thailand a "yellow card" in 2015 for its failure to effectively stop illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.

Since then, the government has enforced strict legal controls to bring the fishing sector into line, including prohibiting destructive fishing gear, setting up a vessel monitoring system and enforcing a 2015 royal decree on fishing to weed out illegal activities. It also imposed strict laws on the employment of migrant labour.

On a visit at several locations of the fishery industry in Samut Sakhon, including a major pier where the catch is unloaded on shore, a seafood processing factory and some boat pier, minister Gen Chatchai Sarikulya pointed out that much progress has been made in the country's measures to combat IUU.

The official said that fishing boats will be instructed to make a record of each catch, including types and quantity, as well as documenting equipment, making sure that at the markets, both buyers and sellers record types and quantities of seafood involved in their trade on designated documents so the information can be used to track down the origin of the products.

Concerning the oversight of fishing trawlers, the minister said various documents, such as licences, logbooks, catch records and aquatic animal transport certificates need to be examined prior to docking.

Related articles:

- Nationwide protest expressed against EU fishing regulations
- Thailand to make bigger effort against IUU fishing, according to the EU
- EU puts off deadline for Thailand to address illegal fishing

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