Thailand has been given more time by the European Union to stamp out illegal fishing practices beyond the initial deadline of October, government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Thursday.
Maj Gen Sansern said the respite was confirmed by a Thai delegation that has gone to the EU Council headquarters in Brussels to report progress in Thailand’s efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
In April, the EU yellow-carded the country’s fishing industry giving it six months to fix its IUU situation or face an expensive ban on seafood imports into the EU.
Maj Gen Sansern said Thailand was being given more time to counter the IUU situation, but stressed that the country must make tangible achievements on three major issues, including the promulgation of the Fisheries Act, the implementation of Marine Fisheries Management Policy, and the implementation of a national action plan. These issues were expected to have been dealt with by the October deadline.
He did not say whether the EU had set a new deadline.
“The prime minister is glad that the EU understands the Thai government’s intentions and is allowing it to continue to solve the problem,” Maj Gen Sansern said. “Thailand has shown its sincerity in tackling the problem and there has been progress in several areas.”
Thailand's overall annual exports to the EU are estimated to be worth between 23.2 billion baht and 30 billion baht. Its global fish exports were worth about 110 billion baht in 2014.