On 16 October 2017, General Chatchai Sarikulaya, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, accompanied by Dr. Adisorn Promthep, Director-General of the Department of Fisheries, led a team of executives and officials  to Samut Sakhon Province to inspect the traceability system for seafood products. This inspection aimed to verify the functioning of the newly launched traceability system to ensure that Thailand's fishing industry is free from IUU products.

 

Thai officials reaffirmed the importance of quality and standard controls for manufacturing of fishery products in order to build consumer trust and ensure compliance with international guidelines. The Department of Fisheries has launched the traceability system to ascertain that the supply chain is free from IUU products. The Thai fisheries tractability system covers both Thai catches and imported catches.

 

1. Traceability of Thai Flagged Catches was established to ensure that the origin of products from Thai flagged catches is accurately tracked and traced throughout the supply chain by requiring all fishing vessels to list details of each catch in fishing logbooks. Each species of fish is then separated and weighed at port, after which the Marine Catch Purchasing Document is issued for the purchase in order to provide information on the product origin. This information is then compiled in the database system of Thai Flagged Catch Certification.

 

2. Traceability of Imported Catches was set up in accordance with Port State Measures Agreement to prevent the import of IUU products into Thailand. Various inspection measures are applied to ensure that the fish that the vessels request to import are not from IUU fishing. These include inspection of catches, examination of documents such as certifications and fishing logbooks, as well as the scrutiny of the fishing behavior and the navigation history of the vessels. Furthermore, there are also control and inspection of products during land transport where each species is separated and weighed during factory unloading. In this regard, the Import Movement Document is issued to the importer and all information is recorded in the database for PSM and Processing Statement Linked System (PSS).

 

In addition, other control and inspection measures are also strictly implemented including port-in/port-out controls and inspection during catch landings. To enhance traceability capacity and standard of fishing port, the “smart scale” system was launched as a pilot model at Fish Marketing Organisation’s ports. This smart scale can automatically transmit weight and species data to the electronic traceability database of Thai flagged catch. Furthermore, the Department of Fisheries has also implemented strict procedures to improve port hygiene, as well as measures to raise awareness for fisheries operators throughout the supply chain to promote cooperation with the authorities. It has also ordered all concerned agencies and authorities to strictly implement the relevant laws and regulations to ensure effective law enforcement.