Fishery groups from across Thailand have applied to sell almost 800 of their fishing vessels to the government, in the face of harsher rules aimed at curbing illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
National Fisheries Association of Thailand president Mongkol Sukcharoenkana on Thursday (April 7) said a total of 792 fishing boats were offered to be sold to the government, as their owners can no longer shoulder the higher costs.
He blamed the situation on “unreasonably severe penalties” set by the Emergency Decree on Fisheries, which became more stringent after its latest amendment in 2017.
Due to the rules, fishing boats can only be used for 240 days per year while the owners have the burden of covering the costs for the entire year, Mongkol said.
Also, the fishery industry is facing a shortage of workforce, he added, blaming the problem on the government’s policy that is “incompatible with reality”.
“The Thai fisheries industry is dying. Commercial fishery has decreased 60 per cent and the catches account for less than 40 per cent of the previous amount,” Mongkol said…