Thai fishing fleet fights for survival amid EU pressure

[webfact]

Fishing fleet fights for survival amid EU pressure

By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM 
THE NATION

 

 

Raft of vessel improvements proving costly for boat owners
 

NEW TECHNOLOGY and other improvements have been introduced in the Thai fishing fleet in an effort to get the nation removed from the European Union’s “watch list” for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

 

In the latest approach to shed the IUU “yellow card”, a satellite communication system, fishing vessel improvements and the introduction of onboard observers have been imposed on all fishing vessels that operate in international waters to enhance monitoring of fishing activities and improve supply chain transparency for seafood products.

 

However, the fisheries sector has meanwhile accused the EU of using the IUU ratings as a trade barrier. Industry operators have argued that adopting the new technology and other improvements was a cost that business owners could not bear and could lead to the collapse of the industry.

 

Since 2015, Thailand has been on the IUU watch list for its “unimproved fisheries industry”, which the EU claims is destroying marine resources and ecosystems, abusing workers aboard fishing boats, and failing to provide necessary facilities for workers.

 

 

The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre (SEAFDEC) was confronting those issues, said secretary-general, Khom Silpachan. The agency had taken an active role in helping the fisheries industry improve practices to pass IUU regulations, he added. 

 

Khom said the SEAFDEC programme had created a sample design of a fishing vessel improved to meet the EU standards.

 

“We can say that most of the Thai fishing fleet does not meet the IUU standards, because almost all of the vessels are not equipped with necessary facilities for the crew onboard, such as a sleeping area, dining area and lavatory,” Khom said. 

 

In response, the boat, christened the Pla Lang 1, was designed as a showcase, providing an example for fishermen to adapt for their own vessels to meet IUU health and safety standards.

 

Khom said boat owners did not need to improve their entire fleets at once or in the case of single-boat owners make all the corrections at one time, but could modify boats step by step to reduce the financial burden, he said.

 

To improve the transparency of fishing activities, the SEAFDEC has also trained onboard observers to monitor the catch and report to the Fisheries Department. Observers are supposed to make sure that fishermen use legal fishing equipment and catch only allowed types of fish.

 

“The observers will not only make sure that our fishing activities align with IUU standards, their information also will let us know about the fish populations in each area, so we can set the right fishing policies to ensure the sustainability of our marine resources,” Khom said.

 

Meanwhile, Inmarsat Plc, in cooperation with USAid and Thai Union Group, have spearheaded the installation of a satellite communications network on fishing vessels to boost the monitoring of fishing activities and improve the livelihoods of workers.

 

Inmarsat’s chief sales officer, Gerbrand Schalkwijk, said the communications network allowed fishing boats to communicate with officers onshore as well as with each other. Crews can also use the Internet while at sea.

 

The technology allows officers to monitor boat locations and receive real-time catch data.

 

“It will improve fishing standards as well as the livelihoods of the workers at sea,” Schalkwijk said, adding that four Thai Union fishing vessels had already been equipped with the communications equipment.

 

The technology, which is small and lightweight, has already been tested and adopted by many countries, including Indonesia and China. While the cost for the communications equipment has not been made public, Schalkwijk said price would decline as more units were sold.

 

However, the improvements were too expensive for Thai fishermen, said Mongkol Sukcharoenkana, chairman of the Thai Fisheries Association, who added that if fishermen were forced to embrace all of the upgrades, they would go bankrupt.

 

“It is a very high cost for us to implement all these measures to please the EU,” said Mongkol. “Picking only the cost of hiring an observer for each fishing vessel, it will cost the business owner Bt4,000 per day and Bt120,000 per month. “The cost of going to sea is already high nowadays. We cannot afford such a big expense.”

 

Numerous new fisheries rules have resulted in many Thai fishing vessels staying on shore, said Mongkol, adding that in practical terms, the nation’s fleet had already been barred from international waters because no operator could afford the additional costs required to meet the EU standards.

 

“We realise now this is all just a trade barrier by the EU, because all of the fishing vessels in Thailand are [following the law], but they still keep the yellow card for Thailand.” 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30327551

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-09-25

[wakeupplease]

“We realise now this is all just a trade barrier by the EU, because all of the fishing vessels in Thailand are [following the law], but they still keep the yellow card for Thailand.” 

 

its not actually its in the interests of the country's future to police the waters Police being the non active word, when you have exhausted stocks what will you catch in the future? plastic bags probably.

 

Trade barrier there is one country very good at doing that right here right now.

[Wiggy]

If they hadn’t behaved illegally and/or cheated in the first place there wouldn’t be a problem. Som nam na. 

[ChrisY1]

Slavery still goes on in Thailand almost unchecked.....regardless of tracking systems and inspectors.

Thailand has fleets in the western Indian ocean....southern east Africa...Madagascar and further south...no-one monitors these unmarked or incorrectly flagged fleets.

SE Asian nations, China,India etc....have already depleted their fishing grounds....just look at the photo!

[tracker1]

I always love a good fiction story !

[mok199]

this is about feeding ''seafood frenzied Asian tourisits''at the all you can eat seafood buffet...I cant even imagine the amount of sea food needed to satisify Asian needs...Asians need to change their eating habbits and realize the planet is not ''all about them''..

[zyphodb]

Hard to have much sympathy for them as they've pretty well wiped out their own fish stocks using illegal nets and slave labour, and just want to do the same in other parts of the world...

[shillhater]

why is that man measuring the size of the bait?

[jaywalker]

12 minutes ago, zyphodb said:

Hard to have much sympathy for them as they've pretty well wiped out their own fish stocks using illegal nets and slave labour, and just want to do the same in other parts of the world...

BUT...You no unnastan! This is Thailand. I am Thai people! Can do whatever I want!

 

....As they turn their rice bowl into a toilet.

 

------------

Moto taxi driver said that once to me, driving thru traffic, with his phone to his ear. I told him to stop & let me off, because of the phone.

 

He got all bent out of shape about that. "I am THAI. THIS IS THAILAND! I CAN DO WHAT I WANT!"

 

Not with me on the back of your bike pal.

[jaywalker]

4 minutes ago, shillhater said:

why is that man measuring the size of the bait?

Because a camera was present.

 

Gotta love the hard hats too. Hard hats for fishing, flip-flops for construction "Work".

[Thian]

So now EVERY fishingboat has an observer who gets paid 4000 baht a day? Is that a farang? 

 

4000 baht is only 1 good fish...and on the markets here the good fish never have a pricetag so you'll have to ask for it. They do look very fresh lately though.

 

But i don't buy fish because they just cut it in pieces and that goes on the scale, including the guts and what's inside the stomach. I wonder if the Thai eat the guts as well.

 

 

[mok199]

mabey if Thailand could make ''chicken smell like fish''...

[wirat69]

3 hours ago, wakeupplease said:

Police being the non active word,

Is there more than one meaning for the word “police” in Thailand?

[nobodysfriend]

They will never stop to catch everything they can for their own greed and the money , illegal or not . If caught , they pay the fine or the bribe , that's it .

They do not care about protection of the environment , they do not even know what this is ...

 

Where I am living I pick up pieces of the beautiful red coral stuck to broken fishing nets everyday ... wonder that still have some left ...?

They throw and pull their nets on the coral reefs , for some small fish that they sell cheap on the local market they destroy an important part opf the environment , the coral reefs .

But they do not care ... when there is no more fish around , they will probably use dynamite ..

" My father's father has been a fisherman , my father was one , I am one , and my 8 kids are hungry "... but they will not become fishermen any more , because there will be no more fish ....

 

[AhFarangJa]

If those pictures are indicative of the catch then I fear it is too late already.......

[robblok]

26 minutes ago, Thian said:

So now EVERY fishingboat has an observer who gets paid 4000 baht a day? Is that a farang? 

 

4000 baht is only 1 good fish...and on the markets here the good fish never have a pricetag so you'll have to ask for it. They do look very fresh lately though.

 

But i don't buy fish because they just cut it in pieces and that goes on the scale, including the guts and what's inside the stomach. I wonder if the Thai eat the guts as well.

 

 

4000bt a day for an observer.... seems like a real steep price.. does that include the bribe for letting them do what they want.. if so then the price makes sense.

[Thian]

Just now, robblok said:

4000bt a day for an observer.... seems like a real steep price.. does that include the bribe for letting them do what they want.. if so then the price makes sense.

Yes it sounds like the price for a foreigner....but maybe that's what Europe wants them to use?

 

Also i wonder how much that gps-thing cost...a cellphone with gps is dirtcheap nowadays but maybe the marine-systems cost a lot more...the fishery in Thailand is a 7 billion us$ a year business though.

[rkidlad]

Did the EU not read or see the story about how they would 'boycott' EU products? Damn! I could have sworn that would change their minds. 

[The Deerhunter]

If they had used the money that was been spent on bribing every level of authority sent to try and regulate them to manage their business humanely and sustsainably they would be a modern up to date fleet already.   With a healthy resource to boot! But this is Asia and TIT. Preach to the choir.

[Mickmouse1]

Do THEY have to abide by the EU F.Regs? I thought only Thai demand others to follow and abide by their rules n Regs such as immigration regs etc etc....I wonder how they will react if a total ban is imposed by the EU and other major importing countries??

[YetAnother]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

We cannot afford such a big expense.”

 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

“We realise now this is all just a trade barrier by the EU, because all of the fishing vessels in Thailand are [following the law], but they still keep the yellow card for Thailand.” 

old refrains: we are victims , we are thai so we do it our way, our rules

[Thian]

1 minute ago, Mickmouse1 said:

Do THEY have to abide by the EU F.Regs? I thought only Thai demand others to follow and abide by their rules n Regs such as immigration regs etc etc....I wonder how they will react if a total ban is imposed by the EU and other major importing countries??

In that case the EU should even add extra rules and regs right after the Thai do abide to all the rules.

They also do that to me every time i apply for a visa...i bring all paperwork mentioned on the website but still they demand me to bring more when i m standing there in person after hours driving.

[Thian]

12 minutes ago, rkidlad said:

Did the EU not read or see the story about how they would 'boycott' EU products? Damn! I could have sworn that would change their minds. 

Yes boycot Benz and Bmw....maybe the bribery also stops then because they have nothing to spend it at.

[jaywalker]

12 minutes ago, Thian said:

In that case the EU should even add extra rules and regs right after the Thai do abide to all the rules.

They also do that to me every time i apply for a visa...i bring all paperwork mentioned on the website but still they demand me to bring more when i m standing there in person after hours driving.

http://www.iamthai.com.au/images/IAT_I Am Thai_logo pink2 72dpi.png

[The Deerhunter]

38 minutes ago, The Deerhunter said:

If they had used the money that was been spent on bribing every level of authority sent to try and regulate them to manage their business humanely and sustsainably they would be a modern up to date fleet already.   With a healthy resource to boot! But this is Asia and TIT. Preach to the choir.

Oh yes and ultimately  Sum Num Nah.  But sad for any decent operators (there must be at least a few) caught in the wreckage.

[jaywalker]

4 minutes ago, The Deerhunter said:

But sad for any decent operators (there must be at least a few)

Pfff. I doubt it.

 

Hope springs eternal, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

[hanssna]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Since 2015, Thailand has been on the IUU watch list for its “unimproved fisheries industry”, which the EU claims is destroying marine resources and ecosystems, abusing workers aboard fishing boats, and failing to provide necessary facilities for workers.

This is all very true, therefore, it would be better if the Thai fishing industry would loose this "fight for survival". 

[Bullie]

1 hour ago, Thian said:

So now EVERY fishingboat has an observer who gets paid 4000 baht a day? Is that a farang? 

 

4000 baht is only 1 good fish...and on the markets here the good fish never have a pricetag so you'll have to ask for it. They do look very fresh lately though.

 

But i don't buy fish because they just cut it in pieces and that goes on the scale, including the guts and what's inside the stomach. I wonder if the Thai eat the guts as well.

 

 

The guts are usually sold seperately as a delicacy, makes for a wonderful tom Yam or tom Som. My wife loves it, better than meat.

[The Deerhunter]

23 minutes ago, jaywalker said:

Pfff. I doubt it.

 

Hope springs eternal, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

Hate to agree but I am sure you are right.  Some of the very small ones  like single boat etc may be clean(er).  But we know what (some/many/most/all???) of the big boys were up to...... as in  "up to, and including slavery." 

[Thian]

5 minutes ago, Bullie said:

The guts are usually sold seperately as a delicacy, makes for a wonderful tom Yam or tom Som. My wife loves it, better than meat.

Well here in most fishshops (also at the Makro) i see the big fish just cut in slices including the guts.

 

Heads are sold seperately.

 

I don't mind that they sell the guts but myself i don't even want to look at it and sure not pay the full price for it as well.