EU to put Thailand 1 step away from fish ban

[webfact]

AP NewsBreak:
EU to put Thailand 1 step away from fish ban
RAF CASERT, Associated Press

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — The European Union is to give Thailand six months to drastically change its policies on illegal and unregulated fishing or face an EU seafood import ban by the end of the year.

Two people with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press Monday that the 28-nation bloc will give Thailand an ultimate warning or it could face export losses of over half a billion euros (dollars) a year.

The move is to be officially announced on Tuesday.

The sources, including one EU official, spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement has yet to be made. They said Thailand now has six months to come forward with a new approach to stave off the ban.

Thailand is a major exporter of seafood, with yearly revenues of almost 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion), and an EU ban would seriously affect the industry. Annual exports to the EU are estimated to be worth between 575 million euros and 730 million euros.

As the global stocks of fish are dwindling, the EU has started to take increasingly tough action against EU nations which it feels are not playing by the rules.

The EU says that illegal fishing around the globe accounts for some 15 percent of catches and has created a 10 billion euro black market that is hurting the environment and fishing communities alike.

Now, the EU hopes it can start cooperating with Thailand so that it improves its practices by tightening the practical and legal loopholes that the illegal fishing industry now exploits.

After the so-called "yellow card" it can go back to a green card for nations that fully meet EU standards, or the EU can issue a red card and impose the trade ban.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-04-21

[Somtamnication]

TAT will use this to increase tourist numbers!

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Thai fish exporters can forget the EU market if they have to follow EU environmental rules, allot of all the trash floating around in the Gulf and on the Andaman Sea has been thrown overboard by the fishing fleet, really disgusting to see all the shit in the sea these days. Many of the boats also fish close into the Similan and Surin Islands and in other protected areas illegally, maybe they have paid of the national park officials to do this or they are just to lazy to go out and catch them?

Edited April 20, 2015 by HiSoLowSoNoSo

[Dannyboy666]

With the USA and EU, No wonder they' re courting Russians and Chinese, Maybe N Korea Next..

[englishoak]

Good about time the EU stopped messing about. No more excuses act now or 6 mths and your out.

[zydeco]

With the USA and EU, No wonder they' re courting Russians and Chinese, Maybe N Korea Next..

No problem, I'm sure. I'll just bet that Russia will step right in and make up for the all the exports lost to a EU fishing ban. Right?

[NongKhaiKid]

Hasn't the EU been watching the DCA and airline safety issue ?

Thailand will do nothing until absolutely forced to do so and even then will ask for an extension to ' put things right ' complaining any ban is unfair.

[alfalfa19]

Unfortunately, this is the only thing they understand. Witness the recent important lip service given concerning the human trafficking.

[Happy Grumpy]

Time for them to plaster over the cracks and make a really huge effort at concealing the 'illegalities'. Then be all smiles, laughs and niceties while giving them a basket of fruit.

[alant]

The EU will do nothing, Thailand will say that it has implemented policies to counter bad fishing practice and all will be well.

[bangon04]

"As the global stocks of fish are dwindling, the EU has started to take increasingly tough action against EU nations which it feels are not playing by the rules."

this is probably a typo or bad translation. They have been tying each other up in quota red tape for years...

But unlikely the EU citizens will all give up their cheap prawns......

[toybits]

More Happiness to Thai I presume?

[seajae]

Thailands fishing practices have decimated the fish stocks right around the country, you only have to go look at what they bring into port and the size of the mesh they use. Thais simply take everything, they do not use size limits so they strip the whole area of sea life including the future breeders then complain when they are not able to make a living due to their greed. Even watching the locals take every tiny fish they catch from jetties is shameful, they fill buckets with 2" babies, nothing is thrown back to grow and breed. I have not fished here for over 12 months as it simply isnt worth it, we go to what would be a great fishing area in Australia and do not even get a follow up because all the fish have been removed by using such fine mesh and also due to the water being so badly polluted. I rarely eat seafood here as it tastes do bad, you can taste all the pollution from the water it lived in, it is the worst seafood I have ever tasted, you only have to look at the colour of the gills on the fish in the markets to see how bad it is plus you can smell it in the flesh.

Problem is no one cares, the fact they are removing all the undersize future breeding stock, fishing in marine parks/protested areas does not come into it, all that matters to them is how much money they can make. Until this changes nothing will improve, no one wants to have to police the marine laws same as the road laws, easier to just complain than actually do something physical.

[AlQaholic]

I thought the Thai fishing industry was mostly based in International waters and fish their fishy fish in someone else's backyard such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Maldives, Burma, India, Madagascar etc?

The Thai Trawlers that go out from the Harbors in Thailand I thought are just a tiny fraction of the whole?

[Bluespunk]

The EU will do nothing, Thailand will say that it has implemented policies to counter bad fishing practice and all will be well.

Not so sure your analysis is correct. The EU can be quite strict.

[Dannyboy666]

Thailands fishing practices have decimated the fish stocks right around the country, you only have to go look at what they bring into port and the size of the mesh they use. Thais simply take everything, they do not use size limits so they strip the whole area of sea life including the future breeders then complain when they are not able to make a living due to their greed. Even watching the locals take every tiny fish they catch from jetties is shameful, they fill buckets with 2" babies, nothing is thrown back to grow and breed. I have not fished here for over 12 months as it simply isnt worth it, we go to what would be a great fishing area in Australia and do not even get a follow up because all the fish have been removed by using such fine mesh and also due to the water being so badly polluted. I rarely eat seafood here as it tastes do bad, you can taste all the pollution from the water it lived in, it is the worst seafood I have ever tasted, you only have to look at the colour of the gills on the fish in the markets to see how bad it is plus you can smell it in the flesh.

Problem is no one cares, the fact they are removing all the undersize future breeding stock, fishing in marine parks/protested areas does not come into it, all that matters to them is how much money they can make. Until this changes nothing will improve, no one wants to have to police the marine laws same as the road laws, easier to just complain than actually do something physical.

. Just Pure and Simple Greed, Future, The Future Is Now, Thainess...

[mike324]

I thought the Thai fishing industry was mostly based in International waters and fish their fishy fish in someone else's backyard such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Maldives, Burma, India, Madagascar etc?

The Thai Trawlers that go out from the Harbors in Thailand I thought are just a tiny fraction of the whole?

Thai trawlers are indeed just a tiny fraction, many modern countries operate supertrawlers that are huge and brings in way more fish than Thai Trawlers. The problem the EU is having with Thailand is mainly the labor issues, not so much the illegal fishing issue.

[diehard60]

OK Mr. PM get to work on this.

[Squeegee]

The EU will do nothing, Thailand will say that it has implemented policies to counter bad fishing practice and all will be well.

So why do we have this news story, clever clogs?

[NeilSA1]

Good luck Mr. PM. Yet another long standing problem has landed in your lap.

[NeilSA1]

One cannot deny that there is a genuine problem with "illegal and unregulated fishing" which also overlaps with the 'slave trade / human trafficking'.

[thesetat2013]

Don't worry Thailand. You can always sell that fish to China and Russia. Don't let the big bad EU scare you into doing things legally.

[Lee4Life]

I smell another subsidy coming!

[Eaglekott]

IMHO the reason is:

"oh, the Thai Baht is strong, the fish we are buying from Thailand is getting expensive, lets ban it to have the prices down. we can always blame the policies on illegal and unregulated fishing."

Edited April 21, 2015 by Eaglekott

[dcutman]

IMHO the reason is:

"oh, the Thai Baht is strong, the fish we are buying from Thailand is getting expensive, lets ban it to have the prices down. we can always blame the policies on illegal and unregulated fishing."

You of course are entitled to you opinion, but I think its a bit way off. I do believe the following article would be a more accurate concern for the EU. Its a shame more countries do not take the same stance. Some day, not in the far future, only people with great wealth will be able to eat seafood.

http://www.philau.edu/collegestudies/Documents/Elizabeth%20Jones.pdf

[winstonc]

The EU will do nothing, Thailand will say that it has implemented policies to counter bad fishing practice and all will be well.

Not so sure your analysis is correct. The EU can be quite strict.

you mean quite strict in the fact that they have after years of being a shit entity finally said dont throw any fish caught back into the sea in europe..the eu needs to start looking at its own doorstep first mate with 500 million menbers ..utter disgrace of an organisation if im allowed to say..sorry for the off topic rant..

[trainman34014]

More shit hitting the Thai fan and i'm sure the General will be so happy to have another dollop to deal with. Will this be more important than writing those new soaps he promised full of Thai's showing each other respect, love and affection with the complete absence of firearms and general infighting (normal Thai behaviour) ?

[Suffinator]

It's about time but the EU is not overly effective at following through. Likely the Thais will cry foul and then be followed by a number of extensions.

Regardless of that thought this is well over due.

If all the recent threats by western nations were implemented then the only ones Thailand could turn to would be their new buddies in Moscow and Beijing.

[Bluespunk]

The EU will do nothing, Thailand will say that it has implemented policies to counter bad fishing practice and all will be well.

Not so sure your analysis is correct. The EU can be quite strict.

you mean quite strict in the fact that they have after years of being a shit entity finally said dont throw any fish caught back into the sea in europe..the eu needs to start looking at its own doorstep first mate with 500 million menbers ..utter disgrace of an organisation if im allowed to say..sorry for the off topic rant..

I am in favour of much of what the EU does.

The fishing quotas a case in point.

It was the ravenous plundering of the oceans that all but decimated fish stocks by greedy, unscrupulous fishery fleets that led to the current policy.

[Chicog]

IMHO the reason is:

"oh, the Thai Baht is strong, the fish we are buying from Thailand is getting expensive, lets ban it to have the prices down. we can always blame the policies on illegal and unregulated fishing."

I think it's more like the fact that they know that when the Thais have finished raping their own waters then they'll be sending out supertrawlers to rape the EU's.