THAI Fishermen

The Thai Government has already introduced a series of fisheries reforms since 2015 in response to the European Union's threats to ban the import of fish from the country. The multi-billion-dollar fishing industry in Thailand had been put under scrutiny after investigations that showed widespread enslavement of fishermen, trafficking in human lives, violence on fishing vessels and in onshore processing plants. The fishermen are mostly foreigners, many of whom come from Myanmar and many live in stateless. Although the reforms have improved working conditions and the situation remains monitored by the government, the closure of fisheries from February to May has brought a severe economic crisis in this category creating an even deeper bag of poverty for these workers. At this time, the fish lay their eggs and the blockade facilitates the restocking of the sea, which is severely compromised by the over-exploitation of intensive fishing. It is certainly not easy to reconcile the needs of fishermen and the sustainability and health of the sea and at the moment it does not find a single solution that can meet the needs of both fronts.