“Slaves are still on the boats; nationals of neighbouring states are still trafficked in to provide cheap or free labour, and Thai fishing vessels continue to fish illegally and unsustainably, thereby reinforcing the economic incentives to use bonded, forced and slave labour to keep the costs down.”
Investigations by the Guardian over the past two years found that Thai and migrant slaves are used on trawlers that catch fish sold in the US, UK and elsewhere in Europe.
In 2014, the US State Department’s trafficking in persons (Tip) report downgraded Thailand to tier three, the lowest ranking, and the country has remained there.
Since the EU’s yellow card warning last April, Thai authorities have enacted legislation to curb trafficking and illegal fishing. Measures adopted include an illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing enforcement act in alignment with EU regulations, and labour laws preventing under-18s from working on boats and in seafood processing factories. A command centre to combat illegal fishing (CCCIF) has also been introduced, with a remit to track every fishing vessel in Thailand’s 42,000-strong fleet through a new registration and monitoring system.