BANGKOK, 21 April 2015 – Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Thanasak Patimapagorn has attended a meeting with an Indonesian minister to discuss illegal fishing in an effort to improve the situation in Thailand.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Thanasak met with Indonesian Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries on the two countries’ cooperation in helping Thai fishing boat crew and tackling the problem of human trafficking in the fishery sector. The problem had become one of the urgent issues that the Thai government are dealing with after the EU warned Thailand to set measures on the prevention and eradication of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
The EU is deciding whether to put Thailand on formal notice for not taking sufficient measures in the international fight against illegal fishing.
There have been reports that the EU is preparing to officially announce the actions it will take against Thailand on the issue of IUU fishing. If Thailand is given a “yellow card,” it has to urgently addressing the problem within 180 days or six months. If the country fails to do so, it will be given a “red card” which will affect its seafood exports to Europe.
