Sold to the Sea: Human Trafficking in Thailand's fishing industry

Thailand’s economy is heavily reliant on labour-intensive industries. However, growing economic prosperity since the late 1980s has seen a decline in the available Thai workforce needed to meet the labour demand.5 In 2009, Thailand’s Ministry of Labour estimated that an additional 116,000 workers would be needed to address the labour-market imbalance. In parallel, the relative lack of economic opportunity in Thailand’s neighbouring countries has made it a destination for migrants seeking employment. Thailand’s seafood industry employs more than 650,000 people with exports totaling $7.3 billion in 2011. Restrictive employment law and a cumbersome, confusing and expensive immigration process – particularly with regard to low-skilled labour – has caused smuggling networks to flourish. Porous borders, inadequate victim identification and indirect support from some officials further exacerbate the problem.