The European Union is to give Thailand six months to drastically change its policies on illegal and unregulated fishing or face an EU seafood import ban by the end of the year.

 

Two people with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press Monday that the 28-nation bloc will give Thailand an ultimate warning or it could face export losses of over half a billion Euros (dollars) a year.

 

The move was officially announced on Tuesday.

 

The sources, including one EU official, spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement has yet to be made. They said Thailand now has six months to come forward with a new approach to stave off the ban.

 

Thailand is a major exporter of seafood, with yearly revenues of almost 5 billion Euros ($5.4 billion), and an EU ban would seriously affect the industry. Annual exports to the EU are estimated to be worth between 575 million Euros and 730 million Euros.

 

As the global stocks of fish are dwindling, the EU has started to take increasingly tough action against EU nations which it feels are not playing by the rules.

 

The EU says that illegal fishing around the globe accounts for some 15 percent of catches and has created a 10 billion euro black market that is hurting the environment and fishing communities alike.

 

Now, the EU hopes it can start cooperating with Thailand so that it improves its practices by tightening the practical and legal loopholes that the illegal fishing industry now exploits.

 

After the so-called "yellow card" it can go back to a green card for nations that fully meet EU standards, or the EU can issue a red card and impose the trade ban.

 

 

PHOTO: In this Feb. 4, 2010 file photo, a fishmonger cuts a joint of Bluefin tuna, which was caught off Thailand, at a stall at the Nice fish market, southeastern France. In a decision, to be officially announced on Tuesday, April 21, 2015, the European Union is to give Thailand six months to drastically change its policies on illegal and unregulated fishing or face an EU fish import ban at the end of the year.

CREDIT: AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau, File.