Acknowledging the threat of a European Union ban on Thai seafood imports, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said the country is working systemically to crack down on illegal and unregulated fishing in order to meet the EU’s six-month deadline.
Deputy government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Tuesday that Gen Prayut told officials from related agencies today to fully and systematically tackle human trafficking, especially that related to the fishing industry.
He explained that EU officials had examined the situation in Thailand late last year while the government was just beginning its efforts to address human-trafficking concerns. Therefore, he said, the deadline threat was not unexpected.
The prime minister was solving the problem systematically, the deputy government spokesman said. A high-level committee and five subcommittees were formed to deal comprehensively with human trafficking and the efforts included a new law to increase the minimal age of crewmembers and the registration and tracking of fishing boats.
Maj Gen Sansern admitted that the efforts would take time to succeed because of the large amount of fishing boats in the country.
The government was implementing the correct solutions and considered the deadline as a positive catalyst for concerned parties to try their best to resolve the problem. Otherwise, the import ban would affect exports and tremendously damage the country, Maj Gen Sansern said.