Shrimp paste business operators in Chachoengsao, Thailand, urged the government Tuesday to ease stiff measures against destructive fishing gear, saying they threaten to deprive locals of a traditional livelihood.
About 50 fishermen from Khlong Charoen Wai village in Bang Pakong district voiced concerns over the government’s measures to curb illegal fishing.
They said the regulations will harm villagers who catch krill (koey) used in producing kapi, or shrimp paste.
The move came after villagers were told by the Chachoengsao port-in-port-out centre that illegal fishing equipment will be prohibited starting from tomorrow.
Under the regulations, the Command Centre for Combatting Illegal Fishing has banned four items of destructive fishing gear: the push net, the set bag net, the i-ngo (two-sided collapsible trap), and the purse seine net.
Adul Charoenwai, 54, said nets are used to catch krill along creeks and canals only during the appropriate season. He said they wanted only krill to make shrimp paste, not other marine animals.
“Koey is a small-sized water shrimp which can be caught only by falling nets. If the measures are strictly enforced for this fishing gear, villagers will lose their income and the ability to sustain their families,” Mr Adul said.
Meanwhile, a local fisheries group in Pattani yesterday praised the government for adding two-sided collapsible traps to the list of illegal fishing equipment.
Maae Latae, a local fisherman, said villagers have not been able to go fishing for about two years after a drastic decline in fish stocks in local waters due to the damage wrought by fishing trawlers equipped with two-sided collapsible traps. Juvenile sea animals were caught before reaching maturity, which could lead to their extinction, he said, adding the government was right to step in as livelihoods were at stake. Meanwhile, chief of the Songkhla Provincial Fisheries office, Kokiate Koonkaew, said the office had told operators of fishing trawlers with set bag nets to modify their fishing equipment to make it meet legal standards. “There are about 200 illegal commercial fishing trawlers in the province,” he said. “Those with set bag nets were ordered to change their fishing gear.”
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