Thailand's seafood industry: state-sanctioned slavery?

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Thailand could lose nearly $1 bn to EU import ban: minister
22 April 2015

(BANGKOK) - Thailand on Wednesday warned it risked losing nearly $1 billion a year if the European Union makes good on a threat to ban fish imports from the kingdom unless it does more to halt illegal fishing.

The world's third largest seafood producer was left red-faced Tuesday when Brussels issued it with a 'yellow card' for failing to clamp down on illegal fishing, saying fisheries monitoring, controls and punishments were inadequate and had to be brought up to international standards.

A 'red card' and eventual import ban of fish would follow if the kingdom failed to clean up its fishing industry within six months, the EU Commission warned.

Thai Agriculture Minister Petipong Puengbun Na Ayudhya told reporters Wednesday that a ban could cost the country up to 30 billion baht a year ($927 million) in European sales -- a shortfall the economically shaky nation can ill afford.

"I am confident that our private sector, fishermen and our fisheries operators are aware that if we fail to solve this problem our fishing industries will be faced with several problems," he said.

Thailand's fishing industry accounts for 40 percent of the country's food exports and is a mainstay of the economy. Its prawn industry is the world's largest.

But its image has been battered by allegations of ships using human trafficking victims and slave labour, as well as taking illegal catches -- practices critics say successive governments have turned a blind eye to.

Thailand's junta, which took over last May in a coup and has vowed to kickstart the kingdom's flagging economy, has said it is determined to combat illegal fishing, including a plan to role out widespread GPS devices on fishing vessels.

Petipong said he was confident Bangkok would meet the EU's six month deadline, adding that the country's rubber stamp parliament had already passed a new bill giving greater powers to harbour and labour officials to monitor trawlers.

But the bill will not become law for another 60 days, something Petipong said the junta might need to fast track if needs be.

"I think we can beat the 180-day deadline," he said.

In June the US State Department downgraded Thailand to its lowest ranking in a report on human trafficking, highlighting abuses in the fisheries industry among others.

On Tuesday Thailand's Foreign Ministry said it was "deeply disappointed" by the EU's yellow card, accusing Brussels of ignoring the steps the junta had taken in the last six months to tackle illegal fishing.

Belize, Guinea, Cambodia and Sri Lanka were all hit with EU fishing import bans in the past but remedial efforts by Belize means it has now been taken off the blacklist.

eubusiness.com

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House panel is told of slavery in Thai seafood industry
MARTHA MENDOZA
AP writer Margie Mason contributed from Tual, Indonesia.
Apr 22

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Modern-day slavery persists around the world, including the abuse of fishermen in the Thai seafood industry whose catch can end up in U.S. markets, a congressional panel was told Wednesday.

"As has been reported for years, the Thai fishing industry is rife with forced labor, both on the high seas and within seafood processing and packing plants," Mark Lagon, former State Department ambassador for trafficking in persons, told a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee.

Lagon, who now heads Freedom House, a nonprofit organization that advocates for human rights, said it remains to be seen whether the Obama administration will impose sanctions it is authorized to deploy, which would bar Thai seafood from U.S. markets.

The State Department's key weapon for combatting human trafficking comes in a politically charged annual ranking in "tiers"- Tier 1 is best, 2 means more could be done, and 3 is a blacklist that can spark sanctions. The House global human rights subcommittee urged the Obama administration to come down hard on those countries that violate human rights when it releases the report in June.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said China was prematurely upgraded to Tier 2 in 2014, and singled out Myanmar, also known as Burma, Malaysia and Thailand as countries that need to do more to fight human trafficking across shared borders. Unless they've dramatically changed their law enforcement, prosecutions and investigations, several African countries face automatic downgrades this year.

Smith said the rankings spur parliamentarians, law enforcement officials and advocates globally "to demand real, measurable change in countries struggling to fight slavery."

Last month The Associated Press reported on hundreds of fishermen whose catch is exported from Thailand to the U.S. who were working as modern day slaves, held in cages on the Indonesian island community of Benjina, whipped with sting ray barbs and forced to work at sea for years on end. To date, authorities have rescued some 370 of those men and identified hundreds more still trapped.

The fish they netted can wind up in the supply chains of some of America's biggest food sellers, such as Wal-Mart, Sysco and Kroger. It can also find its way into the supply chains of some of the most popular brands of canned pet food, including Fancy Feast, Meow Mix and Iams. The companies have all said they strongly condemn labor abuse and are taking steps to prevent it, such as working with human rights groups to hold subcontractors accountable. And Thai authorities, whose $7 billion seafood export industry counts the U.S. as a key customer, have said for years they are taking strong steps to clean up labor practices; yet documented abuses persist.

Matthew Smith, who directs Thailand-based Fortify Rights, a nongovernment group, testified that hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims are displaced after widespread attacks in Myanmar and are at grave risk of being trafficked. And he said Myanmar women and girls are often subject to sexual and domestic servitude, or forced to work in the sex industry.

Among those rescued this month from Benjina by Indonesian authorities, Hlaing Min, 32, was told about the congressional hearing while awaiting repatriation to his homeland, Myanmar.

"I want to say to the congressmen that if I were to mention about all the human skulls and bones from the fishermen who died, the sea would be full of Burmese bones," he said. "On behalf of all the fishermen here, I request to the congressmen that the U.S. stop buying all fish from Thailand. If the label says Thailand, the U.S. should stop buying it."

ap.org

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Ministers at odds on S44 for fishing
23/04/2015

Cabinet ministers yesterday expressed mixed opinions about a proposal that Section 44 of the interim charter should be used to address problems that spurred the European Union (EU) to threaten an import ban if Thailand fails to clean up the illegal fishing industry in six months.

However, the government is confident that a substantial improvement will be seen before the EU delegation arrives in Thailand next month.

The EU has given Thailand six months to take drastic action against illegal fishing and strengthen related laws.

Prime Minister's Office Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana yesterday said the government will need to use all the firepower it has to solve the problems of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing when asked about the proposed use of Section 44.

The section gives Prime Minister and National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) chief Prayut Chan-o-cha special powers to intervene in all national administration, judicial and legal areas.

Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda also supported the use of Section 44 to facilitate efforts to tackle IUU fishing.

According to Gen Anupong, special powers may be needed in managing migrant workers in border provinces.

Finance Minister Sommai Phasee voiced support for the proposed use of Section 44, saying it was already being used to tackle safety concerns over Thai aviation regulations.

A cabinet source said, however, some ministers are worried the use of Section 44 to resolve the issue could make the problem more complicated since the EU disagreed with these special powers from the outset.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said yesterday there is no need for the prime minister to use Section 44.

Gen Prawit said he will ask Gen Prayut to set up a special committee to explain what the Thai government has done to stop IUU fishing. The committee can be established without having to use Section 44.

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Pitipong Phuengboon Na Ayudhaya said even though the government has a limited time in office, he disagreed with using Section 44 to deal with the fishing problems, and they should be resolved under normal legal procedures.

"The current law does not cover environmental issues and there is no punishment for those who commit illegal actions outside the country's territorial waters. This shows Thailand's irresponsibility to the international community," the minister said.

However, the minister expressed confidence Thailand will be removed from the EU's fishing yellow-card list.

"A clear improvement is expected to be seen before the EU delegation comes to monitor the situation in the country next month," he said.

"If we do not start fighting illegal fishing seriously, it could cause significant damage to the fishing industry of our country. We will definitely lose about 30 billion baht," he said.

Three major tasks the EU told Thailand to work on during the next six months are enforcement and punishment, a national action plan on IUU fishing and port-in/port-out surveillance, Mr Pitipong said.

"Under current laws, fishermen who possess illegal fishery equipment will not be punished if they have not used it yet. But the new law will give the officials the right to punish those who have illegal fishing tools, whether they have used them or not," he said.

Port-in/port-out surveillance has also been introduced in Chumphon, Ranong, Songkhla and Phuket, but the power of officials to conduct inspections mentioned in the law is not clear, Mr Pitipong said.

Pornsil Patcharintankul, an adviser at the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said the case showed the need for Thai authorities to get their act together, noting the EU had sent signals for some time about a yellow card but the government failed to pick up on them.

He said if the ban was eventually imposed, the Thai fishing industry would be in trouble due to fierce competition from other countries.

He said while some countries may not entirely ban fishery products, importers will play a larger role in setting product standards which could further hit Thai operators.

thailandchatter.com

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Fishermen sceptical Thailand can clean up in time after EU threat
Amy Sawitta Lefevre
Additional reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak; Editing by Simon Webb and Alex Richardson
Thu, 23 Apr 2015

MAHACHAI, Thailand, April 23 (Reuters) - Thai fisherman Wanlop Kuemfan says a year ago he would have had double the catch being offloaded at Mahachai, a bustling port town southwest of Bangkok, but it has been a tough year for the fishing industry and he fears it is about to get worse.

Thailand's lucrative fishing sector has been tarnished by a barrage of negative publicity, ranging from allegations of overfishing to rights abuses of the thousands of migrant workers who crew its fleet.

Now, the world's third-largest seafood exporter is rushing to beat the clock after the European Union gave the country six months to clamp down on illegal fishing.

Fishermen, ship owners and a senior trade body official all told Reuters the Thai industry would struggle to clean up its act by October, running the risk of an EU embargo on its fish exports if it does not crack down on "pirate" fishing.

At the Thalay Thai seafood market in Mahachai, where around 20 percent of produce ends up in the international market, Wiriya Sirichaiekawat, vice-chairman of the National Fisheries Association of Thailand, said he was sceptical Thailand could register thousands of undocumented fishing boats in time.

"There are 2,000 boats in Thailand that have incorrect licenses," he said. "It will be difficult for the government to get the boats registered within six months."

The EU on Tuesday identified Thailand as a "non-cooperating" country due to poor monitoring and control of its fleet and the trade of fish and seafood from other countries into Thailand. That had led to unregulated fishing catch finding its way on to the EU market, the European Commission said.

Thailand's annual exports to the EU are estimated to be worth between 575 million euros and 730 million euros ($620-$785 million).

RED TAPE

Agriculture Minister Petipong Pungbun Na Ayudhya said on Wednesday he had confidence in measures designed to reverse Thailand's shortcomings, including a vessel monitoring system.

But red tape will be one of the biggest challenges if Thailand wants to meet the EU's deadline, said Wiriya. Educating fishermen about best practices is another.

"There's too much paperwork to register a boat and to obtain a fishing licence," said Wiriya. "We are recommending that the government has a centre in every province along the coast to minimise time wastage."

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Thailand would need to overhaul existing systems to fix the problems.

"We will undo the entire existing system in order to meet international standards," said Prayuth.

Thailand's fishing industry is already reeling from the effects of a crackdown on illegal fishing by Indonesia, which has caused disruption to its seafood supply chain since last year.

That, coupled with a labour shortage in the industry means some Thai fishermen feel they have no option but to employ illegal workers from neighbouring countries including Cambodia and Myanmar said fisherman Wanlop, as he inspected workers offloading bucketloads of inky squid, blue crabs and fish.

"Foreign workers now demand more than the national minimum wage of 300 baht ($9) a day prompting some ship owners to turn to illegal labour," he said.

"Others just don't want to work in the industry at all because of media reports of exploitation on Thai fishing boats."

trust.org

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Absolutely disgusting that in this era of knowledge and so called sophistication we in the west turn a repeated blind eye to this global shame. Thanks for reporting.

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2009

Indeed , this from 2009 , 6 years ago .

Is Your Seafood Harvested by Slaves?
Patrick Winn

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Relatives of Lao Trafficking Victims Appeal For Help From Embassy in ThailandPatima Thungprachayakul of the Labor Rights Promotion Network Foundation talks to RFA in Bangkok, April 22, 2015.
RFA Missing relatives


Naed Phommachack talks to RFA in Bangkok, April 22, 2015.
Credit: RFAThai trafficking


Hongthong Phouheuanghong talks to RFA in Bangkok, April 22, 2015.
Credit: RFA

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Thai UnionThai Union, there is no way to be sure you aren't eating fish associated with slave labor or caught under extremely poor conditions," said Hocevar.



TUF looks to e-commerce platform
PICHAYA CHANGSORN
April 25, 2015

THAI UNION Frozen Products (TUF), a global seafood company, plans to take the local seafood market by storm with the help of an e-commerce platform that is expected to bring in one billion baht in sales within the first year of operations.

Rittirong Boonmechote, president of TUF's Global Shrimp Business, said the company's offerings would include fresh and processed seafood products, not just tuna and shrimp for which the company has a local production base. It will carry imported seafood products like crab and lobster, and other food products such as beef from local and overseas sources.

The company expects the seafood e-commerce business to earn Bt200 million in sales this year and one billion baht next year.

"We would like to become a 'central kitchen' for seafood," he said.

Retail consumers or restaurants will be able to order food from the e-commerce website and the produce will be "cheaper and better" than what they can find in the stores, he said.

Among its primary target are 1,500 Japanese restaurants currently operating in the country.

"We want to become the first choice for consumers and restaurants who are looking for seafood As 'a world seafood expert', we will focus on quality not just the prices," he said.

TUF will create a new brand for the e-commerce business that will help it to boost local sales revenue. According to the company's annual report for 2015, the United States was the largest market last year, contributing to 44 per cent of the group's total sales, followed by Europe (29%). The Thai market came third with just a 7 per cent contribution to the group's revenue, which totalled Bt121.4 billion.

"We will grow the seafood market and enhance it into another level," he said.

nationmultimedia.com

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US to assist trafficking victims stranded in RI

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Prayut begs EU for mercy on illegal fishing
Patsara Jikkham Prangthong Jitcharoenkul
1/05/2015

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha pleaded for sympathy from the European Union (EU) over its ultimatum to clean up the illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing industry in Thailand.

"Everything is up to the EU and no matter how hard we try, if they don't give their approval we cannot do anything about that," he said Thursday, responding to a question about whether his order to set up the Command Centre for Combatting Illegal Fishing (CCCIF) will be sufficient to tackle the fishing problems.

"Of course, we've been wrong about this matter for a long time. So, it's up to it [the EU] to show us some mercy. It is a world organisation that only maintains a single standard and since we've breached its standard, we have to accept the mistake," Gen Prayut said.

The EU has yellow-carded Thailand and given the country six months to solve the IUU problems plaguing the industry.

It is now crucial for the country to try its very best to avoid a red card which would involve a EU ban on Thai fishery product imports, said the prime minister, who admitted that he could not guarantee if the problem will be resolved in six months as demanded by the EU.

He added that it could be up to a year because he has exercised his powers under Section 44 of the interim charter to resolve other key problems involving human trafficking and civil aviation.

His remarks came one day after his order to set up the CCCIF was published in the Royal Gazette. The centre will report directly to the premier from today, with the navy chief in charge of it.

The order states that if no serious action is taken to clean up the fishing industry quickly, it may result in Thailand's fishery export sector being hit hard.

The main tasks of the centre are accelerating the registration of fishing vessels, controlling the arrivals and departures of all registered fishing trawlers, initiating one-stop services for fishing trawler operators in coastal provinces, keeping more detailed records of fishing activities, and installing monitoring systems on fishing vessels.

Another important task is to closely monitor and combat illegal fishing activities.

Foreign Minister Tanasak Patimapragorn said that concerning the United States' annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2014 which placed Thailand in the lowest Tier 3 level, he has asked the US to give advice on how Thailand can deal with the problem but to no avail.

"I have also invited the US experts to coordinate with us in order to deal with human trafficking problems about 10 times, but [we have been informed] they have got a lot of work to do so no one has come to help us yet," he said.

bangkokpost.com

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"Of course, we've been wrong about this matter for a long time. So, it's up to it [the EU] to show us some mercy. It is a world organisation that only maintains a single standard and since we've breached its standard, we have to accept the mistake," Gen Prayut said.

The report details testimonies of crew murdered at sea, and on shore, and the shocking figure from a 2009 survey by the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) that found 59% of interviewed migrants trafficked aboard Thai fishing boats reported witnessing the murder of a fellow worker.

http://ejfoundation.org/oceans/soldtothesea

Sold to the Sea: Human Trafficking in Thailand's Fishing Industry

Of course you have and time / mercy should be shown to you in the same measure as it has been shown by you .

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So the General wants outside help to solve Thailand's internal problem!


"I have also invited the US experts to coordinate with us in order to deal with human trafficking problems about 10 times, but [we have been informed] they have got a lot of work to do so no one has come to help us yet," he said.

Maybe the new submarines can help with this maritime problem?

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more Thai hyprocasy , quick to roll out the sacred no interference in internal affairs soon as it suits

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Thai Navy starts briefing fishing operators of IUU fishing regulation