Department of Fisheries clarified Controlling fisheries in Thailand has strict laws and has managed marine fisheries resources to be sustainable.
Deputy Director General, Department of Fisheries Assigned by the Director-General of the Department of Fisheries to clarify and understand if there is news indicating that catching fish with Trawl Nets, Push Nests, and a Generator fishing vessel destroys marine life in the Thai seas because up to 1 million tons of young economic fish are caught to produce fishmeal. The Department of Fisheries would like to clarify the following issues:
The Department of Fisheries manages fisheries resources based on the participation of fishermen and all stakeholders and realizes the sustainable use of marine life resources according to international principles Under the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries) Development Goal 14 (SDG14), conserve and utilize the oceans, seas, and marine resources sustainably
In the management of marine fishery resources The resources were divided into 3 groups:
1) Demersal species caught mainly from trawl nets,
2) Pelagic fishes mainly caught from Surrounding Nets, and
3) Anchovy species caught from Anchovy purse seine and Lift nets/Falling nets/Anchovy lift nets. Currently, there are 9,608 commercial fishing vessels and 50,012 local fishing vessels, with more than 50,000 vessel owners and more than 200,000 fishermen.
In 2021, there was a total catch of 1,297,000 tons of aquatic animals, including commercial aquatic animals that can be directly consumed or processed into various products equal to 978,000 tons or 75.4 percent of the total aquatic animals and small aquatic animals called trash fish equal to 319,000 tons or 24.6% (consisting of true trash fish, anchovy fish, and juveniles).
Catch results from trawl nets are divided into economic fish and trash fish consists of 3 parts of aquatic animals: 1) Trash fish refers to fully grown aquatic animals that are still small. Which is not popular for consumption 2) Anchovy is a small fish surface. The maximum body length is 8-9 cm., It is commonly used for making fish sauce, and 3) aquatic larvae which can grow into economic aquatic animals that can be consumed in 2021. The number of aquatic animals caught from Trawl Nets in Thai waters is equal to 554,600 tons, divided into 262,300 tons of economic aquatic animals and 292,300 tons of trash fish, of which approximately 190,000 tons of aquatic animals are juveniles, accounting for 34.3% of the total catch from Trawl Nets Surrounding nets Anchovy purse seine and Lift nets/Falling nets/Anchovy lift nets resulted in a total duck catch of 22,635 tons.
In 2021, Thailand has a production volume of fish meal of 247,770 tons. Which is fish meal, produced using trash 76,730 tonnes of fishmeal from fishing vessels or 30.97% of the total fish meal, The rest of the fishmeal is produced by using waste materials from aquaculture plants, some of which can be used as aquaculture feed aquatic animals or used as bait fish in fishing activities such as crab lobster fishing not only used to produce fish meal.
In addition, the Department of Fisheries has several measures to prevent the capture of young fish, such as banning fishing in the larval season or closing bays in the Gulf of Thailand in 7 areas and in the Andaman Sea in 1 area to allow small fish to thrive grow, setting the size of the seine such as trawl nets, set the size of the nets at the bottom of the bags not less than 4 cm, Surrounding nets, the size of the nets not less than 2.5 cm, Lift nets/Falling nets/Anchovy lift nets and Anchoring purse seine, the size of the nets not lower over 0.6 cm and Squid falling nets, net size not less than 3.2 cm. which is reserved only for local fishing vessels by prohibiting commercial fishing vessels, declaration of a wildlife sanctuary and expedite the removal of ships that use high-efficiency equipment, etc.
The Department of Fisheries, therefore, confirms that all fisheries resource management operations are focused on sustainable fisheries, This means that both the resources and the occupation of the fishermen must be stable and parallel available resources fishermen can live according to the policy of the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
Information from : Dissemination and Public Relations Group, Department of Fisheries
