Thailand unfair in penalties for fisheries violations: Mongkol

By The Nation

 

 

Mongkol Sukcharoenkhana, the president of the Fisheries of Thailand Association, on Thursday, told Thansettakij online news that Thailand has penalised his industry with heavier fines for fisheries violations than other nearby countries have imposed on their fisheries sector after receiving a “yellow card” from the European Commission.

 

Mongkol said the governments of four countries that were yellow carded for fisheries offences by the EU – South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam – imposed fines of Bt2.5 million on fishery violators, but Thailand has hit its industry with a Bt30 million penalty for breaking regulations.

 

He also said the Vietnamese government supported a modernisation of their fishery, but Thailand has taken a different approach by setting many regulations, causing many entrepreneurs to dispose of their boats.

 

The Department of Fishery regulations are a problem, the industry body head said.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30376416

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-09-01

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9 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

The Department of Fishery regulations are a problem, the industry body head said.

 

Not the boat owner ignoring multiple warnings over a number of years? Come now,  the Thai fishing industry has been the subject of all sorts of allegations from slavery to stripping the fishing grounds with banned nets and practices. Maybe they needed a big stick t make them take notice. I am yet to hear of any boat owner to have received a fine anywhere near the maximum. They all seem to be very busy protesting the new rules.

 

Thoughen up, Somchai, life is hard.

Easy answer is stop the violations and you stop the fines !

On 9/19/2019 at 4:58 PM, snoop1130 said:

Thailand has taken a different approach by setting many regulations, causing many entrepreneurs to dispose of their boats.

I don't believe that's true as the cause for owners to dispose of their boats.

The Prayut government has in response to vessel owners complaints offered to buy those vessels deemed excess to the allowed number of fishing vessels allowed to sail and provide financial aid for those vessels requiring retrofitting and/or upgrades to comply with IUU and ILO Work in Fishing Convention No. 188 requirements. The latter is directed towards in part de facto slavery of workers on fishing vessels.

But the fishing vessel owners have continued to maintain that basically their (irresponsible and corruptible?) way of life shouldn't be changed in response to foreign pressures. They have insisted on "Thai-styled" solutions - whatever that means but doubtful it complies with EU and UN requirements.

Shellfish bastards...

caught out doing the wrong thing for many years and now bitching because they are being fined for doing it illegally, its cutting  into all the profits made doing these same things year after year so they want the govt to let them go back to doing it their way. They have destroyed the fishing industry in Thailand and it may never recover but that doesnt stop them wanting to continue doing it, profits are more important to them than the continuity of fish stocks