Come Wednesday, 1 July, fishers without licenses in Thailand as well as those operating boats that do not meet the government’s standards will be subject to legal action.
While the move to regulate unlicensed fishers in Thailand has been a long time coming, according to authorities, many fishers are concerned that they will not be able to obtain licenses from the Fisheries Association of Thailand (Fat) by Wednesday; many, in fact, say they cannot afford the costly upgrades for their vessels to meet the governmental standard. As a result, fishers are calling for an additional delay to the rogue vessel ban, and for more negotiations.
They aren’t alone, either – Fat itself is asking the government to hold off on the enforcement of the ban, arguing that state agencies need more time still to collect data and map out the full extent of the problem. According to data from 2012, 18,089 fishing boats vied for an atyabat license, which is granted for activities like fishing and mining, according to The Bangkok Post.
Authories hypothesize that the number of illegal vessels is in the thousands. Because they cannot comply with governmental demands, boats from Songkhla and Trat have said they will not leave port on Wednesday. The Songkhla Fishery Association chairman Praporn Ake-uru noted to The Post that 90 percent of fishing boats in the area have discontinued their work; 800 boats in Trat's Klong Yai will shutter their operations on Wednesday as well.
Fishers who do not plan on meeting the deadline intend to gather on 1 July and relay the obstacles that have prevented them from achieving atyabat, if the prime minister allows it.
The Prayut Chan-o-cha government decided to institute the ban after receiving a final warning from the European Union for illegal fishing practices on 21 April.
