Labor Ministry joins EU and ILO to combat IUU fishing



BANGKOK, 17 March 2016 (NNT) – The Ministry of Labor has joined hands with the European Union (EU) and International Labor Organization (ILO) to step up its fight against illegal fishing practices.

Minister of Labor Gen Sirichai Distakul disclosed that his ministry has signed on to cooperate with the EU and the ILO offices for Thailand, Cambodia and Lao PDR to end unaccepted fishing and seafood practices in the Kingdom. The technical collaboration is to set new standards against forced labor, child labor, foreign laborers and a variety of other unaccepted practices so that Thailand’s fisheries become internationally accepted.

The 42 month long cooperation will conclude in August of 2019 and will involve 4 strategies; namely, development of laws and policies, development of state agents and monitoring, adjustment of employers and the private sector for new regulations and encouragement of independent organizations to take part in the effort.

Thailand has resolved to strictly punish employers who do not comply with fishing laws. So far 73 employers have been arrested and 111 victims have been assisted, 25 of which were under the age of 18.

The EU has voiced belief that Thailand can remedy its Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing situation and has commended the Ministry of Labor for spear-heading collaboration on the issue. The cooperation is being included in a report to be handed to the EU this month in the hopes of removing a yellow flag on the Kingdom.


-- NNT 2016-03-17

Arrested does not mean anything. People want to see the jails being filled.