A delegation from the European Parliament’s fisheries committee was in Bangkok between 31 October and Friday 4 November to see at first hand the efforts made by Thailand to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
In May 2015, the Commission showed Thailand a yellow card to encourage it to reform its legislation against illegal fishing and put an end to labour law abuses. Thailand has since taken very strong action to prevent a red card being issued against it (see EUROPE 11551). The Commission has yet to reach a decision.
The five-person Parliament delegation, made up of Linnéa Engström (Greens/EFA, Sweden), Gabriel Mato (EPP, Spain), Ulrike Rodust (S&D, Germany), Ricardo Serrao Santos (S&D, Portugal) and Izaskun Bilbao (ALDE, Spain), had a number of meetings in Bangkok with government ministers and relevant Thai authorities. “A number of significant improvements in the Thai fisheries legislation could undoubtedly improve Thailand’s ability to tackle and deter IUU fishing activities in its waters”, a press release states. The MEPs were able to see new monitoring, inspection and control infrastructure and facilities. This “can positively impact Thailand’s ability to comply with its international obligations in the fight against IUU fishing”, the MEPs add.
They believe, however, that further effort is required to resolve the issue of “the regularisation and protection of migrant workers illegally employed in fisheries”. The delegation visited a protection centre for victims of human trafficking north of Bangkok and met with a number of NGOs actively engaged in Thailand in rescuing and assisting such victims.
“For Thailand and the EU, it is paramount to continue with this open and constructive dialogue in order to successfully address the global challenges posed by illegal fishing, human trafficking and the exploitation of workers in the fishing industry. The reform of the Thai fisheries legislation and the creation of performing monitoring and control structures go in the right direction and we strongly encourage Thailand to continue on this path”, state the members of the fisheries committee delegation.
The delegation will deliver a report on the findings of the visit when the fisheries committee meets on 10 November. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)