New laws hurt Trat fishing

The fishing industry in Trat is suffering a serious labour shortage now that more than 200 trawlers have switched to register in Cambodia to avoid stricter regulations imposed by the government.

Surapong Intaraprasert, adviser to the Ruam Jai Fisheries Association based in Trat’s Khlong Yai district, said vessel operators cannot recruit Cambodian workers to work because they have other job opportunities.

According to Mr Surapong, more than 200 fishing vessels have switched to register with Cambodian authorities in Koh Kong after being unable to comply with the tightened rules governing fishing practices and migrant workers.

The regulations are part of the government’s attempts to clean up the industry, which went unregulated for decades. The operators frequently use illegal fishing gear and fail to install equipment that would allow authorities to track them.

Mr Surapong said numerous fishing boats remain in port and are not working because they cannot get crews in the wake of tighter rules or they cannot afford the higher costs of hiring migrant workers.

It costs an estimated 20,000-30,000 baht to hire a migrant worker, he said. The labour shortage also discourages potential workers due to the heavier workloads, sources say.

Mr Surapong said the business is likely to be hard-hit by the fishing quota imposed by the government to prevent over-fishing which depletes marine stocks. Fishing trawlers are given a quota of 235 days to fish in a year.

He said the fishing operators will have no income while the boats are tied up in port for four months.

The adviser said he has been gathering problems from local fisheries associations in the province for submission to the Fisheries Association of Thailand, which is expected to raise them with the government to find solutions or relax some of the regulations.

Cdr Sopon Tangwitmanai, the chief of the Port In-Port Out Command Centre in Klong Yai, said there are around 2,000 migrant workers from Cambodia and other countries registered to work on the fishing boats.

He said the new regulations involving migrant workers and fishing practices are discouraging Cambodian workers from seeking jobs here.