A DNA test has confirmed that a corpse unearthed on Indonesia's Benjina Island is that of a Thai crew member of a fishing trawler, Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya said Wednesday.
Indonesia earlier believed the body was a Cambodian national, based on the seaman's book found on the boat where the man worked, Gen Paiboon said.
But authorities suspected the unidentified body might be that of Somkiat Simuangko, a Thai crew member who had gone missing on the island. They contacted his relatives to collect DNA samples from his family to compare them with samples from the corpse. The results of the test, using his mother and daughter's DNA, confirmed the body was Somkiat's.
The death reflects the seriousness of the problem of illegal fishing practices and fishing operators, the minister said.
"The Department of Special Investigation's anti-human trafficking centre will be assigned to take legal action against the operators," said Gen Paiboon.
The DNA test results will now be sent to the Thai embassy in Jakarta, which will arrange to return the man's cremated remains to Thailand, said Sompong Sakaeo, director of the Labour Rights Promotion Network, which helped campaign for the DNA test.
Two or three Thai crew members stranded in Indonesia are also seeking nationality verification and the process is underway, Mr Sompong said.
The "lucky" fishermen who did not die were locked up at Benjina to make sure they could not escape.
Also Wednesday, he Command Centre for Combatting Illegal Fishing (CCCIF) said fishing vessel operators must submit their boat registration numbers, documents and vessel markings for government records, according to CCCIF deputy spokesman Arthon Kluebmas, speaking after a CCCIF meeting.
The meeting, chaired by navy chief Adm Na Areenij, was held to check on efforts to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices.
The CCCIF secretary office will now compile progress updates for a report that will be forwarded to the European Commission's Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG Mare).
Later the report will be submitted to the European Union (EU). The EU has asked Thailand to tackle IUU fishing by this month or risk being hit by trade sanctions. It gave Thailand a yellow card in April for failing to solve the IUU problem.
The Fisheries Department, the CCCIF secretary office and fisheries operators were asked to work with the Ministry of Maritime and Fishery Affairs of Indonesia to bring back Thai crew members still detained in Indonesia, RAdm Arthon said. At this stage, boat operators are still responsible for bearing the cost of returning their workers to Thailand.
"But in emergency cases when the operators cannot be found, the Foreign Ministry will use its funds to protect Thai people overseas by paying for the workers' return," the deputy spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the Thai Shrimp Association vowed to wipe out slavery even as it expressed confidence a recent Associated Press report on forced labour in seafood-processing factories will not hinder shrimp orders from overseas.
The industry will make sure there is no forced labour on shrimp farms, said the association president, Somsak Paneetayasai, though he added it is not easy for the US to ban or raise import tariffs on shrimp products from Thailand.
Most of the shrimp orders come from the US, and sales continue to rise, he said. The volume of shrimp exported to the US has grown 9.8% this year, though the value has dropped 14%.
The value has fallen since the US cut Generalised System of Preferences privileges for Thailand -- though for trade reasons, not because of forced labour, Mr Somsak said.
"Shrimp consumption [in the US] has not dwindled despite allegations concerning labour issues, including child labour," Mr Somsak said. "They are still only allegations."
