Thailand faces the risk of having its seafood exports banned in Europe as Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha admitted Tuesday that efforts to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) may fall short of convincing the European Commission (EC) to lift the country's "yellow card" warning status.
Despite this, the premier sounded a note of optimism by insisting the EC was "satisfied" with his government's performance in dealing with labour and environmental problems that have plagued the fishing industry for decades.
Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chatchai Sarikulya said the EC is scheduled to announce its position on Monday after it wrapped up a 16-day inspection on Sunday.
Sources at the Fisheries Department said the EC team conveyed the message that Thailand must do more to combat IUU-related wrongdoing.
"The EC is satisfied but wants us to speed up work in areas where we've not reached 100% of our targets," Gen Prayut said.
The commission "yellow carded" Thailand in 2015 for IUU problems as a final warning, saying that if adequate solutions were not taken a ban on seafood exports could ensue.
The nation's fishing exports generate around 200 billion baht a year.
Since then the government has tightened regulations, cracking down on trawlers that do not obtain fishing licences or properly register migrant workers. Thailand has faced harsh international censure for human trafficking and forced labour, mainly involving workers from neighbouring countries, with fishing one of the industries where it is rife.
Gen Prayut said reform was being hamstrung in some areas as changes to the law can threaten the livelihood of operators. Manpower shortages in coastal provinces also led the government to backpedal recently on its crackdown on migrant workers.
"This explains why we face delays and sometimes we re-do a whole process," he said.
"Almost everything has problems," he added, citing the metering of fishing boat sizes.
Fishing boat owners have also complained about the unfairness of holding them responsible for the cost of registering migrant workers who work only for short periods.
Other fishermen say new laws that prohibit them from working offshore -- as they have done traditionally -- are robbing them of their livelihoods while benefiting commercial trawlers which are able to get the permits to fish there from authorities.
The ban on highly destructive fishing gear that can cause severe harm to marine ecology has also drawn the ire of fishermen who claim they only fish for small aquatic animals, such as krill.
Such issues are generally overlooked by the EC because they focus on IUU-related measures and their concrete outcomes, Gen Prayut said.
A source at Government House said the EC will likely maintain the yellow card but not impose a ban on exports as it has taken heart from the government's efforts.
Meanwhile, officials who are looking into allegations of human trafficking in other industries are expediting moves to take action against state authorities accused of playing a role in no fewer than 15 cases nationwide.
Among them are the abusive treatment in the South of Rohingya migrants, a Muslim ethnic group from Myanmar, and a sex scandal in Mae Hong Son province in which officials are accused of buying sex from underage girls.
A panel under the Justice Ministry is set to follow up on the cases.
It met recently to discuss the progress made and ensure that "there will be no delay in implementing proceedings against wrongdoers", permanent secretary for justice Wiisit Wisitsoraat said Tuesday.
According to a source at the Department of Special Investigation, officials handling the Rohingya migrant case are taking legal action against former senior army adviser Lt Gen Manas Kongpan.
Lt Gen Manas allegedly committed a list of crimes including human trafficking, helping foreigners enter the country illegally, detaining victims of human trafficking, and demanding ransoms.
The case has fallen under the media spotlight and been monitored by the US since 2015 after 32 graves, suspected of belonging to Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants, were found in a jungle in Songkhla near the Thai-Malaysian border.
The Criminal Court is looking into the case, which involves more than 100 suspects, including Lt Gen Manas and former politicians.