Prayut wields S44 to clean up fisheries
Illegal trawlers dodge previous reforms
The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) chief has exercised his power under Section 44 of the charter to further regulate vessels and fishery-related activities, to speed up tackling the problems of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.
According to the order, owners of fishery-related vessels must report to authorities by a designated time, expired licences must be renewed within 30 days, and a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) must be installed on vessels.
Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Gen Chatchai Sarikulya said yesterday the government had found many vessels are taking advantage of legal loopholes to fish illegally, despite the government’s efforts to crack down on the problem.
This might hinder the government’s response to a European Union (EU) threat to ban fishery exports from Thailand unless it tackles the problem.
In response, the ministry had asked the prime minister to exercise his special Section 44 power to speed up the process of ending illegal fishing, especially rapid action on legal enforcement against wrongdoers and regulating their vessels.
According to the 29-point Order 22/2017 issued on Tuesday, owners of transshipment vessels, refrigerated cargo vessels, vessels for carrying fuel and water, and other fishery support vessels need to report to the authorities by the date provided.
If they fail to follow the order, the vessel owners will be fined at least 10,000 baht and will lose their licence. Vessels lacking a licence will be banned from going to sea.
The licence of any vessel will be revoked unless it is renewed within 30 days of the expiry date, according to the order.
The vessels must be equipped with a VMS while they also need to report on their movements.
The administrative committee comprising the chief of the Department of Fisheries, the Ministry of Labour, the Marine Department, the Ministry of Industry and more, will work on speeding up procedures.
For example, the committee has full authority to close any plants involving fishing activities, including a right to halt the movement of any vessels and illegal workers within three days and detain the vessel until the legal case is complete.
The panel also has the authority to confiscate a vessel with a court order.
“We have spent over two years dealing with IUU problems and we don’t want to make it longer. We want to wrap the matter up as soon as possible. The latest order under Section 44 will help us achieve the plan,” the minister said.
Previously, Adisorn Promthep, chief of the Department of Fisheries, said the EU has been concerned about lax law enforcement in the fisheries sector.
He also expressed his confidence the EU will make a decision soon on whether to ban seafood exports from Thailand.
An EU representative is expected to visit the country some time over the next four months.