Fisheries Department announces 3-month prohibition of fishing in central Gulf of Thailand

[webfact]

Fisheries Department announces 3-month prohibition of fishing in central Gulf of Thailand

 

BANGKOK, 15 February 2017 (NNT) – The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has issued an announcement to prohibit all fishing activities in the Gulf of Thailand between February 15 and May 15, to rehabilitate the marine resources. 

Assistant to the Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Patthamaphong Prathom issued the ministry's announcement to cease all fishing activities the central area of the Gulf of Thailand for three months. Areas included in the announcement will cover the provinces of Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon and Surat Thani. 

Department of Fisheries Director General Adisorn Phromthep reported that 2 orders have been issued to intensify the Ministry of Agriculture’s shutdown of the Gulf of Thailand. Under the orders, the netting of fish is prohibited in the Gulf of Thailand off Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumporn and Surat Thani for three months. There will also be a 45 day grace period during which the ban will stay in place once the order is lifted. Fishing is prohibited for up to 7 nautical miles from the shore. 

The department is now considering special credit lines for affected fishermen, but has asked for time to study their effects on mackerel after the fish breed's populations dropped to a critical level. 

The announcement was issued following a meeting between the department, relevant agencies and fishermen to remedy the problem of dwindling mackerel populations in the Gulf of Thailand. The meeting saw the need for the Ministry of Agriculture to issue a mandate to help protect marine resources during the mackerel breeding season.

 

-- nnt 2017-02-15

[webfact]

Thailand closes Gulf 3 months to allow marine animals to breed

 

 

BANGKOK: -- The Department of Fisheries yesterday announced the closure of the Gulf of Thailand for three months to allow marine animals to breed.

 

The closure of part of the 320,000 square kilometers metres of the Gulf covers 26,400 square kilometres or 16.5 million rai off Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon and Surat Thani provinces.

 

Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Gen Patompong Prathompat said the closure was aimed at keeping the area for marine animals to breed, particularly mackerel, to lay eggs and nurse their young.

 

He said the area that is closed is considered the world’s kitchen and the country’s largest breeding place for marine animals.

 

Mackerel is vital to the country’s economy, he said and added that during the 3-month closure period, from February 15 to May 15, the use of some certain fishing gears to catch fish is prohibited.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/thailand-closes-gulf-3-months-allow-marine-animals-breed/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2017-02-15

[craigt3365]

If they can pull this off, it'd be a fantastic thing!  The Gulf is almost a dead sea now due to over fishing.

[Commogwinto]

So, assuming they have Fishery Protection vessels patrolling, then all is ok, most probably not, so therefore they will carry on as per norm... therefore most probably a totally insignificant ban.

[Balance]

It is very unlikely that three months will have much of an effect on what is very close to been ecosystem that is very close to being dead.  There may be data from other parts of the world with similar climate and ocean bed geomorphology that will give a more realistic forecast. What is even more important is that the fishermen understand, and agree that if they and their children are to have a fishing industry, they have to adopt a sustainable fishing model.  There is a tremendous amount of data and I am sure several books dealing with how the American fishing industry reacted to severe overfishing and depletion of the breeding stock in the 1950's through the 1970's and the sustainable systems that were instituted in all of the affected areas.

[FritsSikkink]

On ‎15‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 1:22 PM, craigt3365 said:

If they can pull this off, it'd be a fantastic thing!  The Gulf is almost a dead sea now due to over fishing.

Not for the family of fisherman

[sfokevin]

2 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Not for the family of fisherman

Fisherman who have destroyed the fish population 

[craigt3365]

3 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Not for the family of fisherman

This is 100% due to their actions.  They are greedy and don't care about the environment.  I see trash washing up on the shores here and know a lot of it comes from the hundreds of small boats out every night.  I see them come back to shore in the morning, no trash bags in sight.

[FritsSikkink]

28 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

This is 100% due to their actions.  They are greedy and don't care about the environment.  I see trash washing up on the shores here and know a lot of it comes from the hundreds of small boats out every night.  I see them come back to shore in the morning, no trash bags in sight.

Do you really think that every fisherman is rich, think again.

[FritsSikkink]

31 minutes ago, sfokevin said:

Fisherman who have destroyed the fish population 

What would you do if you need to feed your kids?

[craigt3365]

1 minute ago, FritsSikkink said:

Do you really think that every fisherman is rich, think again.

Absolutely not.  But they are lot less rich now that they can not fish.  They've know about this problem for years.  Actually, the blame lies with the "big fish" who own the big ships that ply the waters catching everything in sight.  And as usual, the poor pay for this.

[daveAustin]

23 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

What would you do if you need to feed your kids?

Get a job!

[Balance]

8 minutes ago, daveAustin said:

Get a job!

This was an answer to a FritsSikkink   asked, What would you do if you need to feed your kids? It is a fair question and has a number of answers, "Get a job" being one, though it seems to lack any empathy or knowledge of Thailand.  What we also know is that all people who make their living fishing want to fish as much as they can and catch as many tons as they can.  The rule of maximized extraction and exploitation is at work as it is with any other natural resource on or in the planet.  

 

One of the great political battles is should this rule be allowed to play out unchecked, or is the public interest strong enough to allow governments to impose rules with big words like "sustainability."  I believe this to be the case because the person who needs to feed his kids does not have the option to think of larger issues.  His immediate needs simply preclude this. So, in Thailand, the Extractors in the middle and at the top and government officials agree that there will be no rules.  The result is a DEAD Gulf of Thailand and not fish for anyone to feed their kids.  

 

To the question asked, it is again the responsibility of the Government to fill the void.  I would also suggest that the Extractors at the top of the food chain should also be required to pay, a lot.  They have made Trillions of Bhat on the way to creating a DEAD ocean; they can help with getting it back to health, including giving the fishermen enough to feed their kids or retrain them and give them another job.  

 

[FritsSikkink]

52 minutes ago, daveAustin said:

Get a job!

They have a job

[shadowofacloud]

On 2/15/2017 at 7:22 AM, craigt3365 said:

If they can pull this off, it'd be a fantastic thing!  The Gulf is almost a dead sea now due to over fishing.

And not just the gulf. Same thing going on on the other side of the peninsula, in Bay of Bengal.