อียูขู่แบนสินค้าประมงไทยสิ้นปีนี้ ปม IUU
by พรนภัส นิลกำแหง
8 มิถุนายน 2559
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อียูกดดันให้ไทยเร่งแก้ปัญหาทำประมงผิดกฎหมายและการค้ามนุษย์ โดยขีดเส้นตายจะแบนสินค้าประมงไทยในสิ้นปีนี้
สหภาพยุโรปส่งหนังสือถึงพลเอกประวิตร วงศ์สุวรรณ รองนายกรัฐมนตรีไทย เรียกร้องให้รัฐบาลไทยนำเสนอมาตรการที่เป็นรูปธรรมสำหรับการแก้ปัญหาการทำ ประมงผิดกฎหมาย ไร้การควบคุม ไร้การบันทึกข้อมูล หรือไอยูยู ในที่ประชุมร่วมกับอียูซึ่งจะมีขึ้นที่กรุงเทพฯในเดือนกรกฎาคมนี้
อียูยังระบุอีกด้วยว่า หากการประชุมที่กรุงเทพฯในเดือนหน้ายังไม่ปรากฏมาตรการชัดเจน และไม่มีความคืบหน้าของการแก้ปัญหาอย่างเป็นรูปธรรม จะให้ใบแดง ยุติการนำเข้าสินค้าอาหารทะเลจากประเทศไทย
ท่าทีดังกล่าวมีขึ้นหลัง จากเมื่อปลายเดือนพฤษภาคมที่ผ่านมา อียูเพิ่งต่ออายุใบเหลืองให้กับรัฐบาลไทยอีก 6 เดือน เนื่องจากไม่พอใจความคืบหน้าในการแก้ปัญหาการทำประมงโดยผิดกฎหมายและปราศจาก การควบคุมของไทย ซึ่งเป็นประเทศที่ส่งออกอาหารทะเลรายใหญ่อันดับสามของโลก นอกจากนี้ ยังพบว่าการปฏิบัติอย่างผิดกฎหมายต่อแรงงานในประเทศไทย เทียบได้กับการใช้แรงงานทาส
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EU warns Thailand over illegal fishing
By Matthew Tempest | EurActiv.com with AFP
June 7, 2016
The EU warned Thailand on Tuesday (7 June) to take “swift and determined” action against illegal fishing, or risk a European ban on its fish exports.
Two top officials from the European Commission, the EU’s executive, made the plea in a letter to Thai Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan that was seen by AFP.
The officials said that talks in Bangkok next month between the EU and Thailand “will be a crucial opportunity for Thailand to present robust measures” to fight illegal fishing and labour abuses.
“In the absence of such progress, further action by the European Commission cannot be excluded,” said the letter signed by the EU’s Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella and Social Affairs Commissioner Marianne Thyssen.
Thailand is the world’s third largest exporter of seafood — a status that rights groups say is achieved through illegal overfishing and a reliance on low-paid trafficked workers from neighbouring countries.
In April, the European Union renewed a “yellow card” warning to Thailand, threatening to ban all seafood exports unless the military government tackled rampant illegal fishing and labour abuses among its fleets.
This followed a visit by EU officials to the kingdom in January to assess whether a ban should go ahead, a move that could cost Thailand up to $1 billion in lost revenue.
The junta government of General Prayut Chan-ocha has struggled to revive the kingdom’s slumping economy and is desperate to avoid any costly sanctions on the vital sector.
Chan-ocha is also facing a major test of his international credibility with a referendum scheduled for 7 August on a proposed new constitution for the country – theoretically to be followed by elections in 2017 – which has been widely criticised as leaving the military with sweeping powers.
A previously-mooted Free Trade Agreement between Bangkok and Brussels was abandoned after the military seized power in 2014 from democratically-elected prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
In May, recoginising the threat of a ban from by the EU on its fishing exports, the Thai government announced a string of measures under the programme entitled “Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing” (PMSA).
The move brings in inspection measures which the Thai government hopes will prevent entry to their waters and harbours of foreign-flagged vessels engaged in illegal fishing.
Some 27 ports only have been designated for foreign vessels – 15 for foreign commercial ships, 12 for smaller ones from neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Myanmar and Cambodia.
48 hours notice is required to dock. Officers may inspect their catch, and electronic monitoring systems will be in place to ensure traceability in the fish supply system.
“Thailand’s accession to the PSMA will enhance the control over foreign-flagged fishing vessels and prevent the importation of IUU fish into Thailand. It will also lead to broader and more effective cooperation between Thailand and other state Parties to the Agreement on information sharing to combat IUU fishing,” said the Thai Ambassador to Italy – where the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations is based.
POSITIONS
[PDF] Thailand's signature to the PSMA.
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EU TEAM VISITS THAILAND TO ASSESS FISHING INDUSTRY CLEANUP
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AP NewsBreak: EU Pressures Thailand on Fish, Labor Reform
By RAF CASERT, ASSOCIATED PRESSBRUSSELS — Jun 7, 2016, 9:14 AM ET
via ABC News
The European Union warned Thailand on Tuesday to take "swift and determined action" by next month to improve its fisheries and labor practices or face a serious economic threat of an EU ban on Thai seafood.
The bloc's fisheries and social affairs chiefs, in a letter Tuesday to Thai Deputy Prime Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan that was obtained by the Associated Press, said talks in July in Bangkok on fighting fish fraud and labor abuses "will be a crucial opportunity for Thailand to present concrete and robust measures." The letter was signed by both Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella and Social Affairs Commissioner Marianne Thyssen.
Despite months of talks, the 28-nation EU is not satisfied with progress to end illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the world's third-largest seafood exporter. Illegal labor practices in Thailand amounting in some cases to slave labor have only exacerbated the problem. The letter said barring a breakthrough on the issue next month and "tangible progress" by year's end, a ban might follow.
Thailand, which has 8.1 percent of global fishing exports, needs the wealthy European market to maintain its seafood prominence. Annual Thai fish exports to the EU are estimated to be worth between 575 million and 730 million euros ($650 million and $825 million).
In April, the EU extended a so-called yellow card against Thailand, meaning it was given another chance to clean up its act or face sanctions that would hit its economy hard. The EU commended Thai legislation to curb illegal practices but insisted action on the ground was sorely lacking.
The issue of labor abuse gained in prominence around the globe after a two-year investigation by The Associated Press exposed practices amounting to slavery. In addition to freeing more than 2,000 slaves, the reporting resulted in the arrest of a dozen alleged traffickers — with eight convicted and sentenced so far — and the seizing of millions of dollars' worth of seafood and vessels. It also prompted companies in the fishing and food industries to change some of their labor and supply practices.
The Thai government has already promised to improve both its fishing and labor practices. The EU now wants to see that turned into reality.
