Owners of fishing vessels complain VMS installation unfair

[webfact]

Owners of fishing vessels complain VMS installation unfair



BANGKOK: -- Several owners of fishing vessels have shown up at the Metropolitan Police Bureau to acknowledge the charges that their vessels were not equipped with vessel monitoring sytem (VMS) as required by the Fisheries Department.

The Fisheries Department recently lodged a complaint with the MPB that as many as 2,700 fishing vessels in 22 coastal provinces have not installed VMS as legally required as part of the IUU (illegal, unregulated, unreported) fishing control imposed by the European Union.

However, Thai Fisheries Association chairman Mongkol Sukcharoenkana told the media today (Tuesday) that the VMS requirement was unfair because most of the vessels which are not yet equipped with the system are under repairs.

Also, he claimed that many of the idle fishing vessels have not set sail since last July because they do not have the proper licenses.

He said that VMS should only be applied to vessels which are actually fishing.

Meanwhile Pol Maj-Gen Charuwat Waisaya, the metropolitan police deputy commissioner, assured that he would be fair to all fishing operators and would ask each of them why they did not equip their vessels with VMS.

However, he warned that they must show up to acknowledge the charges within the May 14 deadline otherwise warrants will be issued for their arrests.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/162748


-- Thai PBS 2016-05-10

[happy chappie]

They will never be able to sort out iuu.the euro buro don't take brown envelopes.i can see a euro ban on Thai fish products in the near future.this will leave more Thais without work/money which isn't good but on the upside at least there might be some fish left in the sea.

[laolover88]

Presumably a "repair" might involve the installation of VMS?? Surely it is the fish that should be arrested, not those hard working, slave owning Thais?

[DM07]

Well...booooo- #@!%^&)- hoooooo!

[chainarong]

The issue here is failure to comply , stop your whinging , and living a hundred years behind the times, just do what the fisheries department requests, for as you will certainly find out if you don't what will happen to your lively hood , for too long the fishing fleet has done whatever they wanted , now it is time the fleet came up to some semblance of international standards.........................................

[WhizBang]

Thais will never learn and will then complain loudly when they have no jobs because their product is banned in the EU.

[bangkokfrog]

many of the... 2,700 fishing vessels in 22 coastal provinces... have not set sail since last July because they do not have the proper licenses.

Yeah right! How many is "many" in Thailand? No more than a few hundred, I suspect. Ban the lot of them.

[Chang_paarp]

Poor little darklings they a actually have to obey the laws. They have discovered that they are not that special.

[Strangebrew]

Well the law is unfair how do you expect them to fish illegally if they are being watched you farangs no understand Thai way of doing business.

[trainman34014]

Amazing how they cry like babies the minute it looks like all their underhand and illegal activities are going to be shut down. Seems Thai's know no other way of earning a living other than by cheating and scamming behaviour and i hope the fishing 'industry' gets its just desserts.

[Koosdedooes]

VMS ? Are they talking about AIS ?

[CGW]

Briefly VMS is aimed at tracking the fishing fleets, AIS is more of a "awareness" tracking software which gives position to other vessels, base stations and satellites. If I understand it correctly there is also a "daily" cost involved with VMS as it is constantly monitored whereas with AIS you are just sending a signal so no charges after initial installation costs

[ChrisY1]

VMS displays where the vessel is working...and if the vessel is in protected or other countries waters.......not a lot to do with illegal fishing practices.

Solving the illegal practices is almost impossible as it requires constant inspections of all fishing vessels.....which would never happen.

[seajae]

lets be honest, they dont want to fit them because they are probably sneaking out and fishing so if they have to fit them they can no longer sneak out. They have been given so much leeway about the requirements that are needed to become legal but they still whinge and bitch because it means a cut to their profits. The last thing these people want is for the govt to know where and what they are doing, it removes all chances of doing anything illegal, govt needs to give them an ultimatum, comply or lose the boat

[willyumiii]

Hmmm.

When confiscated boats are sunk to make artificial reefs, the fisheries benefit.

It's a win / win for the legal fishing industry...and the fish!

[Bender]

these thai fisherman should not complaining, they should be in jail for human trafficking!

[sanukjim]

Amazing how they cry like babies the minute it looks like all their underhand and illegal activities are going to be shut down. Seems Thai's know no other way of earning a living other than by cheating and scamming behaviour and i hope the fishing 'industry' gets its just desserts.

You are right about not knowing how to actually do business legally.Once again ti is a" Thai Face thing".No matter the position or richness of a Thai if his/her acquaintances find out that they either purchased something or entered into a business legally they are looked down upon even if in the lone run the it took more effort.

[arrowsdawdle]

Presumably a "repair" might involve the installation of VMS?? Surely it is the fish that should be arrested, not those hard working, slave owning Thais?

[wabothai]

They better comply before their vessels are permanently 'not fishing'.

[Dexlowe]

many of the... 2,700 fishing vessels in 22 coastal provinces... have not set sail since last July because they do not have the proper licenses.

Yeah right! How many is "many" in Thailand? No more than a few hundred, I suspect. Ban the lot of them.

ermmm ... probably Catch 22 - can't get the licenses because they don't have the VMS. Don't want to install VMS until they have a license.

Golly gosh, what on earth does one do to solve this problem. Best to bitchh about interfering foreigners first, and think about it later.

[Srikcir]

The Command Center for Combating Illegal Fishing spokesman Vice Adm. Jumpol Lumpiganon said in February 2016 that that it will take six to three years from now to upgrade Thailand’s fishing industry on par with international standards, regarding the use of electronic devices to monitor fishing boats.

Looks like Jumpo’s correct. But the question becomes who compensates the ship owners who don’t fish in the interim? In the past Prayut has paid out some interim compensation to noncompliant ship owners but unlikely to commit to several years of compensation.

Meanwhile the EU gave Thailand in January 2016 just six months more to improve its performance on UII or face a red card for all Thai seafood imports.

Prayut needs to be very careful with the issue or he could further damage the nation’s economy.

[willyumiii]

many of the... 2,700 fishing vessels in 22 coastal provinces... have not set sail since last July because they do not have the proper licenses.

Yeah right! How many is "many" in Thailand? No more than a few hundred, I suspect. Ban the lot of them.

ermmm ... probably Catch 22 - can't get the licenses because they don't have the VMS. Don't want to install VMS until they have a license.

Golly gosh, what on earth does one do to solve this problem. Best to bitchh about interfering foreigners first, and think about it later.

"Don't want to install VMS until they have a license. "

Want??

​Want has nothing to do with it.

There are times I do not want to get out of bed.

I do not want to pay taxes.

There are many things I do not want to do, but I do them.

If people only did what they want to do, there would be no rules, no regulations and no laws.

" I don't want to" does not work for my 8 year old child.

It does not work for fishermen who don't want to follow the rules either!

[chainarong]

Well the law is unfair how do you expect them to fish illegally if they are being watched you farangs no understand Thai way of doing business.

The trouble is strongbrew err strangebrew they're so used to getting away with murder, now they have to start to comply they don't know what the word is..