BANGKOK – Thai officials say they are rushing to crack down on illegal and unregulated fishing in a bid to avoid the European Union's threat to ban seafood import from the country.
The EU gave Thailand six months to drastically combat illegal and unregulated fishing or face a seafood import ban.
Agriculture Minister Petipong Pungbun said Wednesday the ministry was seeking a shortcut to speed up the enforcement of the recently passed law regulating the country's fishing.
He said the authorities will implement a series of measures to combat the problem, including a vessel monitoring system that can trace the fishing boats.
Thailand is a major exporter of seafood, with yearly revenues of almost 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion), and an EU ban would seriously affect the industry.
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