Countries in South East Asia are among the worlds’ top producers and exporters of fish and seafood products, and migrant workers contribute significantly to the fishing and seafood processing sectors. The programme will address the needs of women and men working in the fishing and seafood processing sectors to promote safe and regular labour migration.

The EU has closely cooperated with SEA countries and with the Thai government to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, in particular with an aim to raise labour standards in export-intensive fishing and seafood processing sectors. Ship to Shore Rights SEA will build on Thailand’s achievements, which were gained with the support of the EU-funded ILO Ship to Shore Rights project. The collaboration with IOM and UNDP will also enable the programme to draw the UN’s collective experience in combatting human trafficking, improving recruitment practices, and ensuring access to information.