The government has begun the process of setting up a system of "catch certification" that can help to trace fishing activity from start to finish to upgrade the fishing industry.
The move is part of Thailand's attempts to standardise the Thai fishing industry and fight allegations of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by the EU.
The catch certification will help to ensure authorities can trace the catch from table to sea, said Benjamaporn Wongnakornsawong, secretary for public affairs at the Command Center to Combat Illegal Fishing (CCCIF).
"We've never had such a system, so the certificates will ensure all boats are under the same regulations and can be traced," he said.
For the certification, boats will have to report details of crew and cargo to the CCCIF every time they leave port as well as when they return. The goal is to ensure all seafood is legally caught and the quality is good enough to be sold to seafood processors.
Mr Benjamaporn said the system covered not only Thai fishing boats but also foreign boats and vessels carrying imported seafood.
"The system will allow us to trace all boats to determine if they are involved in any human trafficking or labour abuse," he said.
"This will ensure we can avoid accusations of labour abuse."
Thai authorities want to clean up the image of the country's fishing industry ahead of the EU's decision on IUU fishing, due to be announced soon. The system will be completely installed by August.
"Our company imports fish to produce fishmeal to make animal feed, so we'll have to give our utmost cooperation to the government and comply with the system in order to avoid being blamed for abuse," said Jaras Usawachanchaiskul, a vice-president of Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF).
The company implemented strict rules for raw-material purchases, buying fish only from companies certified by the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organisation as having a responsible supply chain of custody.
CPF operates four feedmeal factories with combined annual capacity of 240,000 tonnes.
But capacity has been cut to 30% due to weak demand and limited raw-material supply, as few sources meet global standards.
