Tag Archives: Thailand
Something Is Starting to Smell Fishy About the Global Seafood Supply Chain
The past half year has seen a steady stream of disturbing reports about serious human rights abuses tied to industrial fishing. The story about conditions at the shrimp plant in India come against a broader backdrop. The same week that the whistleblower documents were published, the Corporate Accountability Lab, which is an advocacy group of lawyers and researchers, released a report detailing severe cases of captive and forced labor as well as environmental concerns often tied to wastewater at a variety of other shrimp plants in India. It’s worth remembering the history here. Labor abuse tied to seafood is not a new problem. And yet, here we are again: the seafood problems previously highlighted in Thailand are now being widely revealed in China and India. more, >>click to read<< 08:05
U.S. Shrimp Industry and Congressional Allies Urge ITC to Maintain Antidumping Orders on Imported Shrimp
The United States shrimp industry recently made its case to maintain antidumping orders on imported shrimp from India, Thailand, and Vietnam before the International Trade Commission (ITC). On April 11, 2023, the ITC conducted a hearing in connection with its Third Sunset Review on the antidumping orders. The American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA) presented five witnesses from shrimp processors in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida who relayed stories about the continuing injury caused by ever- increasing volumes of dumped imported shrimp. >click to read< 13:58
Cassidy Urges International Trade Commission to Keep Antidumping Orders on Shrimp from China, India, Thailand, Vietnam
U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy M.D. (R-LA) expressed his support for continuing antidumping orders on imports of frozen warmwater shrimp imported from China, India, Thailand, and Vietnam in a letter to U.S. International Trade Commission Chairman David Johanson. Cassidy highlighted the importance of these antidumping orders to ensure Louisiana’s shrimp industry can compete on a level playing field. “Dumped imports from China, India, Thailand, and Vietnam surged into the U.S. market, driving down prices, depressing earnings, and making it increasingly difficult to cover the costs of production. Faced with declining revenues and market share, many small fishermen, processors, and distributors were forced to close. The orders have imposed needed discipline on imports and allowed our vital Louisiana shrimp industry to survive,” wrote Dr. Cassidy. >click to read< 14:40
Fishing Crew Rescued After 1 month at Sea in Thailand
A Phuket fishing crew survived for nearly one month at sea after their boat, the Soi Sakul Petch, suffered engine failure a week after it departed from the island in southern Thailand on January 19. The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) launched a huge search operation after losing contact with the boat, combining marine and air searches, and reached out to authorities in Malaysia and Indonesia in case the boat has entered their territorial waters. >click to read< 17:51
Australian Seafood industry on ice
A great Australian tradition is seafood at Christmas time. We have some of the best fresh seafood in the world. The need for the reminder is becoming more important. Over the past few decades Australia has closed massive amounts of oceans and rivers reducing the amount of seafood available to all Australians. The result of all these fishing bans has not been to save the environment, we have instead just imported seafood from other countries with poorer environmental practices. We instead import most of our seafood from China, Thailand and Vietnam who all extract fish from their oceans much more intensively than we do. The numbers are shocking. >click to read< 08:04
Grieving widow of Scots fisherman killed in North Sea tragedy says family left in ‘awful’ situation
The Thai family of a Scots fisherman who was tragically killed in a North Sea boating accident have been left in an “awful” financial situation since his death. Ronald Mackinnon, who split his time between Thailand and Peterhead, passed away after a fishing vessel capsized off the coast of Norway in March. Voriya Sonthipong, his partner of 16 years, first met the 56-year-old at a Pattaya hotel where she worked. They went on to have two daughters, now aged 13 and 12, and a seven-year-old son. On the day of the tragedy, Voriya was contacted by Ronald’s mother. Voriya said her “heart almost broke” when she heard the news. And the anguish of losing her beloved partner has been compounded by financial woes that have plagued the family ever since. >click to read< 14:17
Struggling fisherman’s staggering $1.7 million find
Narong Phetcharaj, who normally only earns a few hundred dollars a month, was returning to shore when he saw a strange object being pushed by currents in Surat Thani province’s Niyom beach on Monday. Curious, he went to the mysterious object and realized it could be valuable whale vomit he had seen on television before as it had the same waxy texture and appearance. The fisherman later took the 30-kilogram object to experts at the Prince of Songkla University to have it tested,,, It could now be worth as much as US$1.25 million,,, “I’m so excited I don’t know what to do. I plan to sell the ambergris as I’ve already received a certificate to prove that it’s real,” Narong said. “If I can get a good price, I’ll retire from working as a fisherman and throw a party for my friends.” >click to read< 08:03
EU pressure on illegal fishing threatens more than 8,000 Thai fishing boats
More than 8,000 trawlers in 22 provinces are likely to lose their commercial fishing licences after checks revealed the registration numbers did not match the vessels, and many had failed to renew their permits for years. If all the boats were banned, it would be a terrible blow to the Thai fishing industry, which employs about 300,000 people. The discrepancies were uncovered when the government began regulating all fishing boats to comply with the EU‘s demand last April that Thailand end illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, or lose its market for seafood products. Bangkok was given six months to fall into line. Read the rest here 12:09
Striking Thailand fishermen slam “inefficient” Government controls
Thai fishermen are continuing their strike in opposition to directives against illegal fishing – imposed by the European Union and adopted without notice by the military junta – which have outlawed most of their vessels. According to industry experts, the crisis was due to the government, which in recent years has done nothing to prevent the current situation. Wading into the debate on the EU’s “yellow card” handed out to Thailand last April, and the measures taken by the Bangkok government to avoid losing one its major export markets, Read the rest here 16:16
Thailand arrests 2 alleged brokers who sent slaves onto boats, new regulations take affect
Chayuthphong Charoenporn, 50, and Samruay Chatkrod, 53, hired middlemen to find workers at train stations, bus terminals and other public places, said Lt. Col. Komvich Padhanarath. Komvich said the middlemen would approach men who looked poor and ask them if they wanted jobs and then take them to a shelter where they were sometimes drugged or given alcohol to keep quiet — and then sold to boat owners for 30,000 baht ($900) per person. The laborers were then taken without their consent to fishing boats near Ambon island in Indonesia, he said. Read the rest here 11:12
Khong Yai fishermen threaten to idle boats
The fisheries association in Trat’s Khlong Yai district has threatened to stop work on July 1, the deadline set by the government for all fishing boats to register and comply with the EU’s illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing rules. “The government wants to appease European countries, which buy only 30-billion-baht worth of fishery products per year from Thailand. But this would cause considerable damage to the Thai fishing industry, which is worth more than 100 billion baht. Read the rest here 10:24
“Operation Icebreaker” – Chinese authorities bust huge seafood smuggling ring
Frozen fish and crustaceans from Canada, India, Norway and Thailand were seized by Huangpu Customs in the southern port city of Guangzhou. But 21 “seafood smuggling cells” were targeted across the country and 31 people arrested in cities like Zhanjiang (a key shrimp trading hub), Tianjin and Beijing. Noticeably the latest crackdown features imported salmon and cod but also shrimp and crab. And crucially, the authorities have specifically pointed to mislabeling of species with sablefish and salmon stamped as containing lower-end species like mackerel and Atlantic cod – many of which are imported tax-free by processors for re-export. Read the rest here 15:04
Thai police find graves of suspected trafficking victims
Last June, the United States put Thailand in its lowest category — “Tier 3” — in its annual assessment of how governments around the world have performed in fighting human trafficking. The ranking took into account the smuggling of Myanmar’s long-persecuted Rohingya community, as well as cases of migrants from neighboring countries who are forced or defrauded into working against their will in the sex industry, commercial fishing, garment production, factories and domestic work. President Barack Obama waived invoking action,,, Read the rest here 16:29
Phuket, Thailand – Villagers feast on dead shark’s pups
Scientists from the Coastal Fisheries Research and Development Centre in Krabi went to take a look at a very large dead shark found floating just off the coast. But when they got there they found that local residents had already beaten them to it, chopping up the shark and 18 baby sharks found dead inside it, and distributing the meat fairly to everyone, while it was still fresh. Read the rest here 07:33
US downgrades Thailand, Malaysia and Venezuela on human trafficking
The downgrades could cause some multinational companies to reconsider investments in industries accused 
of using trafficked labour such as fisheries, a lucrative business in Thailand, the world’s largest exporter of shrimp. Read the rest here 16:02
Little effect from slavery accusations on fish-product exports so far: ministry
“Importers are still ordering Thai fishery products as usual. Exports to the US and the European Union should not be affected by the problem,” Srirat Rastapana, permanent secretary of the Commerce Ministry, said yesterday. Read more here 09:57
Thailand slams US trafficking report
The Foreign Affairs Ministry has slammed the United States for downgrading Thailand in its human trafficking report and urged it to reconsider the decision. The US downgraded Thailand, Malaysia and Venezuela on Friday to its list of the world’s worst centres of human trafficking, opening up the countries to possible sanctions and dumping them in the same category as North Korea and Syria. Read more here 07:39
US downgrades Thailand to lowest ranking in human trafficking index for ‘systematic failure’ to prosecute slavers
In January this year the Thai embassy in Washington signed a $400,000-plus deal with leading US law firm Holland & Knight. The money was for lobbying to persuade the White House, Congress and US Departments of State and Defence that Thailand is a country that fights human trafficking and forced labour. It seems not to have been money well spent. On Friday Thailand was downgraded,, Read more here 09:25
Human trafficking: Moment of truth arrives for Thailand
This week, the US State Department will unveil its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, and the widespread expectation is that Thailand – which has been on the Tier 2 Watch List for the past four years for poor law enforcement – will be dropped to the lowest rung, Tier 3, joining the likes of Cuba, North Korea, Syria, Iran and Zimbabwe. Read more here 10:59
Slavery at sea has Thailand teetering toward US sanctions
For years, US officials have urged Thailand, one of America’s closest Asian allies, to rid its $7.3 billion fisheries export industry of these abuses. Though carried out on lawless seas, these crimes risk entangling supermarkets in America, where one in six pounds of seafood is imported from Thailand. continued@globalpost
Keepin’ that imported shrimp real cheap! Underage Workers in Thailand: Walmart Fails to Act, Says Report
The brief, entitled ‘The Walmart Effect: Child and Worker Rights Violations at Narong Seafood,’ documents a number of serious violations of Thai law and international human rights standards at Narong Seafood, a model shrimp processing company and longtime supplier to Walmart. continued @ Phuket Wan
