Thailand proposes ASEAN to draw joint fishing plan

MALTA, Oct 8 (TNA) -- Thailand has proposed to fellow members in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to prepare a joint fishing policy as a way to solve the warning by the European Union (EU) on the illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, said Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya. ASEAN ministers have supported the idea and the issue will be discussed during the 39th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry to be hosted by Thailand early next year, Gen Chatchai said. He said the EU is prepared to give Thailand essential information so that it could be used in laying down framework for the upcoming ASEAN meeting. The EU issued an official warning or so-called “yellow card” since April 2015 because Thailand had not been doing enough to tackle IUU fishing. Thailand needs to improve its fisheries’ monitoring, control, and sanction systems to comply with international obligations, and to certify the origin and legality of its fishery exports concerning forced labor. Gen Chatchai’s remarks were made after he had attended the 4th ministerial meeting of ‘Our Ocean Conference’ held in Malta on October 5 and 6. He said he had discussed with Karmenu Vella, EU Commission for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, who expressed satisfaction on Thai government’s attempts to resolve the IUU. Mr Vella reportedly told him that the attempt showed that the Thai government is serious in resolving the IUU problem, Gen Chatchai added. (TNA)