Thailand has been commended for sharing lessons learned in combatting illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, during the opening of the Global South-South Development (GSSD) Expo 2022 in Bangkok on Monday.
Ye Anping, director of the South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) Division of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said Thailand has made significant achievements in agricultural and food system transformation over the past few decades.
Thailand has done this by providing technical support to a number of countries on a bilateral basis within and outside the Asia-Pacific region over the years, Mr Ye said.
"IUU fishing is one of the successful stories," he said while presiding over the GSSD Expo 2022.
The three-day GSSD Expo 2022 -- which finishes on Wednesday -- is being co-hosted by the Thai government and the UN's Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). It is an annual event organised by the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) to showcase evidence-based successful development solutions and initiatives, in collaboration with UN agencies and all other partners.
Mr Ye said Thailand's effort to overhaul its fishery systems management began in 2015 when the European Union flagged the kingdom for IUU activity and threatened to ban seafood imports unless improvements were made.
Since then, he said, many measures were implemented including port-in port-out inspections, vessel monitoring and traceability systems, and the use of initiatives to limit the amount of seafood harvested to avoid long-term depletion.
Such initiatives resulted in the lifting of the yellow card in 2019.
Mr Ye added that Thailand has the potential to significantly contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by sharing its technical know-how and development experiences with less developed countries.