Thailand to accelerate solution to IUU Fishing

BANGKOK, April 22 (TNA) - The Thai government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, is speeding up solution to the Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing so that the European Union (EU) will lift its yellow card on Thai fishery exports. Thai Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Pitipong Pungbun Na Ayudhya told a press conference on Wednesday that his ministry is speeding up actions in response to recommendations from the EU, including pushing for a quick promulgation of an internationally-recognized fishery law so that the EU will revoke its yellow card on Thai fishery exports, issued on April 21. As part of the planned actions, Pitipong said, his ministry will propose to the Thai army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to exercise Section 44 of the Provisional Constitution to promulgate an amended fishery act right away, as the legal amendment has already passed the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and waits for a royal approval. Pitipong affirmed that the EU's yellow card has no impacts on Thai fishery exports for the time being and if Thailand was proved to seriously solve IUU Fishing, the EU would lift its yellow card. The minister acknowledged if Thailand was unable to solve the problem as demanded by the EU, the 28-member European trading bloc would issue a red card, meaning that Thailand cannot export fishery products to the EU, in which the value of the Thai fishery exports now stands at about 30 billion baht annually. Permanent Secretary for Agriculture and Cooperatives Chavalit Chookajorn told reporters that the EU has dropped yellow cards it earlier issued to South Korea and the Philippines for two years and 11 months respectively after both countries had improved their laws to tackle illegal fishing. Meanwhile, Thai exporters urged the government to use Section 44 to solve human trafficking in fishery within the EU's six-month deadline. Paiboon Ponsuwanna, Honorary Chairman of the Thai National Shippers' Council (TNSC), pointed out that the EU had warned Thailand against its leniency to fishery-related human trafficking for a decade before it finally issued the yellow card. Paiboon expressed his concern, as the EU is the third largest market for Thailand's fishery exports, after Japan and the United States, and its ban could expand worldwide; so, the government should exercise power under Section 44 to speed up the solution to meet the six-month deadline set by the EU. The TNSC chief mentioned although compliance with the EU's fishery standard would raise local operators' costs, the international standard of Thai fishery products would enhance their competitiveness on the world market in the long run. With the EU's yellow card, Thailand is required to address IUU Fishing within six months or face its seafood import ban. (TNA)