Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Friday pledged to look into problems facing the fisheries industry as its representatives urged the new government to revise laws to ease the impact of restrictions imposed to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Speaking during a visit to Samut Songkhram, Mr Srettha said the sector's struggles were among the top priorities of the Pheu Thai-led government, and a working committee would be set up to address the problems.
According to Mr Srettha, Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) secretary-general Capt Thamanat Prompow, who is tipped to be the agriculture minister, would head the panel to mobilise efforts tackling the problems in a comprehensive manner.
Capt Thamanat was part of Mr Srettha's delegation that met representatives from the fisheries sector. The others included Pheu Thai's Manaporn Charoensri, who is tipped to become deputy transport minister, and PPRP MP for Kamphaeng Phet Phai Lik, who is tipped to serve as deputy commerce minister.
The representatives on Friday urged the new government to amend 13 pieces of legislation aimed at curbing the IUU practices, which prompted the European Union (EU) to slap Thailand with a yellow card in 2015.
They claimed several IUU fishing restrictions and labour-related rules have driven operators out of business and suggested the government should gradually increase wages to avoid any sudden impact on business operations.
Mr Srettha said Thailand's seafood exports were valued at more than 350 billion baht before the country was slapped with the yellow-card warning that was lifted in 2019. However, the country had to import seafood with a total value of 150 billion baht, he noted.
"After I was royally endorsed [as PM], I met with [representatives of] the tourism and travel industry and discussed debt issues. The third item is fisheries, which the government attaches importance to," Mr Srettha said.
He said some issues, such as the documents of migrant workers, could be addressed by setting up a one-stop service centre first, whereas other issues requiring international cooperation could take some time to process.
On the issue of wage increases, Mr Srettha said this was a key policy of every coalition partner, but the government would do its best to avoid putting a financial strain on businesses.
Capt Thamanat said he would set up a working committee to spearhead efforts to rehabilitate the fisheries sector as soon as he officially takes office.