THE CABINET yesterday approved two measures to help fishermen suffering from the increased enforcement of laws and measures to deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The first move is to use Bt215 million (5.9mn US$) to buy back the boats of fishermen who have to leave the industry if they cannot comply with the tougher regulations or those who want to leave to try another vocation.
The second measure is to ease access to soft loans from the Government Savings Bank for operators who need to upgrade their equipment and boat so they can continue fishing.
The scheme offers a 4-per-cent interest rate and is funded by a budget of Bt50 billion.
All fishermen will now be eligible for the loan if they get approval from the Port Authority of Thailand or their local port authority. Previously, the scheme was limited to members of the National Fisheries Association of Thailand.
The Nation, 2015