EU warns Thailand over insufficient action to fight illegal fishing

The European Commission on Tuesday warned Thailand over insufficient action to fight illegal fishing, threatening with further trade sanctions.

The European Commission said in a statement that it put Thailand on formal notice with a yellow card as a result of a thorough analysis and a series of discussions with Thai authorities since 2011.

The Commission has denounced the country's shortcomings in its fisheries monitoring, control and sanctioning systems and concludes that Thailand is not doing enough.

European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, stated: "I urge Thailand to join the European Union in the fight for sustainable fisheries. Failure to take strong action against illegal fishing will carry consequences."

The EU will start a formal procedure of dialogue with the Thai authorities, that will be given six months to implement a corrective tailor-made action plan.

"Should the situation not improve, the EU could resort to banning fisheries imports from Thailand," the statement said.

In addition, the European Commission also acknowledged that two fishing nations, South Korea and the Philippines, have carried out appropriate reforms and are now equipped to tackle illegal fishing.

The EU had issued yellow cards to South Korea in November 2013 and the Philippines in June 2014. Endit