Climate change is hampering Thailand’s efforts to restrict illegal fishing and increasing the risk of the European Union (EU) imposing a ban on exports from the country’s billion-dollar seafood sector, according to environmentalists. Campaigners argue that climate change is as much of a threat as overfishing because it undermines the recovery of fish stocks in traditional fishing grounds, encouraging fishermen to enter non-Thai waters. In April 2015, the EU warned Thailand, the third-largest seafood exporter in the world, that its industry could face an export ban unless regulation improved. The government has been trying to address environmental concerns by introducing new laws aimed at curbing pollution but critics say they are not enough.
Climate change is hampering Thailand’s efforts to restrict illegal fishing and increasing the risk of the European Union (EU) imposing a ban on exports from the country’s billion-dollar seafood sector, according to environmentalists. Campaigners argue that climate change is as much of a threat as overfishing because it undermines the recovery of fish stocks in traditional fishing grounds, encouraging fishermen to enter non-Thai waters. In April 2015, the EU warned Thailand, the third-largest seafood exporter in the world, that its industry could face an export ban unless regulation improved. In 2015, the country’s seafood exports to the EU were worth $511m.