Thailand seafood industry prepares for EU regulation

 

 

Thailand's seafood producers and exporters are now gearing for the new fishing regulations set by European Union.

 

The EU, in September last year, decided to ban entry of fishery products that are suspected to be caught by illegal, unregulated or unreported (IUU) fishing, by the start of 2010.

 

The measure aims to remove rampant IUU fishing activities worldwide and preserve the marine ecology and environment.

 

The regulations are seen to affect the Thai fishing industry, which catches more than 3 million tonnes of fish a year.

 

Songsang Patavanich, honorary adviser to the Thai Overseas Fisheries Association said that though there'll be drawbacks, Thailand will definitely comply with EU's new obligations.

 

For aquaculture products to gain access to the EU market, they need to pass the catch certification scheme that allows EU agencies to trace back whether products were fished or traded by IUU trawlers or not.

 

 

Some observers are worried that in a country with about 13,000 ships of all sizes, ranging from lower than 10 tonnes gross to over 50 tonnes gross, there could be chaos when the rule is implemented.

 

The difficulties might occur at piers where a number of small trawlers unload, he said, adding that trawlers need to spend time to report where the fishes came from.

 

However, he was confident that Thai seafood producers and exporters are preparing for the measure to prevent any effect to the country's seafood exports, worth 94 billion baht a year from 335,000 tonnes of shrimp, 310,000 tonnes of fish, and 44,000 tonnes of tuna products.

 

Thailand is the first country in the region that invited EU officials to explain the IUU and their requirements, said Somsang.

 

Songsang, also an executive of Union Frozen Products, suggests food processors that import raw materials should ensure the materials were caught from ships that were licensed by local governments.

 

Somying Piumsombun, the director-general of the Fisheries Department, confirmed that the country had complied with the new rules for some time, as ''Thailand is one of eight countries that the EU chose for a test case, considering our export volume.''