BANGKOK, 3 July 2015 – The Director-General of the Department of Fisheries has stressed that the strict enforcement of laws to regulate fishery activities will set a new standard for fishing practices in Thailand leading to better quality of Thai catches.
The Department of Fisheries Director-General said that Thailand has long been suffering from the widespread illegal fishing activities because authorities used to be far too lenient in keeping rules such as in registration of fishing vessels, the use of proper fishing equipment, while related business owners had also played a part in the problem.
To address these problems, the government must strictly enforce related laws covering fishing crew, vessels, and equipment used. It will also make sure to keep the ecological balance between harvested catch and the remaining marine population.
The Department of Fisheries will join hands with related agencies such as the Marine Department to provide registration and permit issuing services at One Stop Service centers in many provinces until 15 July 2015 to facilitate trawler owners and employees. Meanwhile, the trawlers already affected by the new regulations can contact the Marine Department from today until 31 July 2015 in order to complete the required procedures that will re-allow the vessels to sail.
