DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER Prawit Wongsuwan will meet with European Union (EU) representatives tomorrow to present Thailand’s efforts in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) practices.

While expressing confidence that the country has made progress in this front, he fell short of showing optimism that the EU would be impressed by the work.

He also said he could not tell whether the United States would agree to upgrade Thailand’s ranking in the upcoming Trafficking in Person (TIP) report.

“I am neither the EU nor the US, so I can’t tell whether they will be satisfied with our efforts,” the minister said. “But I can tell you that Thailand has already done its best and that it is proceeding in line with international protocol.”

The US put Thailand in Tier 3 or the lowest category in its latest TIP report, saying Thailand had failed to fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking and was not making any significant efforts to do so.

Last April, the EU also issued a yellow card to Thailand over IUU practices.

“During my meeting with EU executives, I will tell them what the Thai government has done since the yellow card was issued,” Prawit said, adding that he hoped Thailand did not get a red card because it could affect the seafood export sector.

The EU technical team has already come to Thailand to compile information related to the IUU, while EU executives will arrive today and meet Prawit tomorrow.

Prawit said the IUU problem existed for a long time and the government was doing its best to solve it. In a related development, the Customs Department’s director-general, Kulit Sombatsiri, and representatives from several relevant organisations announced the launch of the Anti-IUU Fishing mobile application, which is now available at both App Store and Play Store.

Developed jointly by the Customs Department and the Fisheries Department, the app is split into two parts. The first part compiles publicly available information on anti-IUU efforts, while the second is reserved for officials. It contains information that officials need to use for their anti-IUU operations such as the list of illegal fishing trawlers and the list of proper licence holders.

“This app will help them work faster and more efficiently,” Kulit said, adding that for the public this app was also a source of information for anti-IUU operations.