Rogue trawlers to face more scrutiny at sea

Rogue trawlers to face more scrutiny at sea

Government to deploy database, trackers to keep eye on fishing boats

The government of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha is stepping up efforts to regulate fishing trawlers as part of a plan to remove Thailand from the lowest rank in the US's Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. 

Eye on the chart: The June reports issued by the United States rate countries from "Tier" 1 through 3 on a scale where 3 is the worst. Thailand last year finally made it to the bottom of the chart.

Gen Prayut said the move to regulate fishing boats is not new, but law enforcement must be more stringent. 

State agencies in the sector must work in concert and lay out long-term strategies to deal with the issue, he said. 

Gen Prayut will take on the job as chairman of the National Fishery Policy Committee to address the problem.

Observers believe it will be difficult to push the country up from Tier 3 to Tier 2 on the US watch list by the time the next report is filed in June next year, as little progress has been made to tackle the problem. 

On June 20 this year, the US released its TIP report which downgraded Thailand from Tier 2 to Tier 3, the lowest level where it is on par with 23 other countries, for its lack of progress in combating human trafficking. 

The decision was announced only one month after the coup.

The TIP report said Thailand had made insufficient efforts to comply with minimum standards in tackling the problem.

The country serves as a point of origin, destination and transit for human trafficking.

Human trafficking in the fishery industry has also been criticised.

The fishing industry is always the most-cited violator of human rights and human trafficking in reports by domestic and foreign agencies and governments. The government has vowed to take measures to bring boat owners to account. (File photo)

Some crews on Thai fishing trawlers are forced to stay on board for several years with minimal pay, according to the report. They work up to 20 hours a day and seven days a week. Some are threatened and assaulted. 

As a result of the downgrade, some importers of Thai fishery products in the EU have pulled them off the shelves.

The US could also exert pressure on international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank not to lend to Thailand.

Wiriya Sirichai-ekawat, president of the Thai Overseas Fisheries Association, backed Gen Prayut's policy to regulate fishing trawlers.

He said the association would work with the government to use database and communication technologies to stamp out rogue operators.

Mr Wiriya said he supported the Labour Ministry's policy to import fishery workers from other countries in addition to Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.

The workers should have permanent passports, which would enable them to work on boats that go fishing in other countries' territorial waters.

At present, even alien workers who have undergone a nationality verification process receive only temporary passports from their governments.

The temporary passports restrict alien crews to working in specific countries. As a result, Thai boats cannot take them to third countries' territorial waters.

Mr Wiriya said some operators carry on regardless, and allow alien workers to use Thais' seaman's books to avoid being caught.

The labour shortage in the fishery industry is also critical, Mr Wiriya said.

Few Myanmar workers come to work in the Thai fishery industry under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) reached by the two governments, he said. 

In general, Myanmar authorities only permit residents who live within 50km of the sea to work in the Thai fishery industry because they are familiar with the fishermen livelihood, he said. 

If they live far away from shore, they must receive training before they go out to work, he said.

Mr Wiriya also called on Asean countries to work together to find ways to use the Asean flag on fishing trawlers.

He said some boat owners may be awarded concessions to harvest in others' territorial waters or co-invest with foreigners to catch fish in their countries. 

The Asean flags would help marine travel, he said. 

Speaking about ways to tackle human trafficking in the fishery industry, deputy permanent secretary for labour Arak Prommanee said seafood exporters must have certification to ensure they do not receive goods from fishing boats which break licensing rules.

A database of boats and their crews will be created in provinces where many boats dock, including Samut Sakon and Pattani, Mr Arak said.

The records would help officers quickly track down boats when offences are committed.  

Labour Minister Surasak Kanjanarat said he had signed a ministerial regulation to protect workers in the fishery industry, including prohibiting employers from hiring crew members aged under 18 on fishing trawlers.

Meanwhile, academics and civic organisations are concerned about lax law enforcement in human trafficking. 

Supang Chantavanich, director of Chulalongkorn University's Asian Research Centre for Migration, said the TIP Report indicated the state should do more in the area of prosecuting and punishing offenders.

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