Senior Thai officials outlined the steps being taken to combat forced labor and human rights abuses in their country’s seafood industry at a presentation at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit on 2 February 2016.

Representatives from a British importer of Thai seafood and a non-governmental organization responded by backing the government’s efforts and encouraging their peers to stay engaged in Thailand and helping to advance efforts to improve labor standards in the Thai fishing industry.

Thailand Minister of Labor General Sirichai Distakul, who also serves as Secretary of the Committee on Policy Implementation to Combat Foreign Workers and Human Trafficking Problems, said his country had recently adopted a new fishery management plan and new legislation that directly addressed the problems identified in recent public reports. “What I’d like to make clear is that my team and I are not here to deny the existence of deep-seated problems in the Thai fishing and seafood industries,” Distakul said. “Rather, we are here to reaffirm our commitment to rooting out these problems and to fulfill Thailand’s international obligations.” Credit and view full story at Seafood Source