The fishing industry is suffering from a major shortage of 74,000 migrant labourers, resulting from the state's recent measures on tackling human trafficking, says Mongkol Sukcharoenthana, chairman of the National Fisheries Association of Thailand.
The critical labour shortage has forced 16,000 commercial fishing trawlers to remain docked over the past two years, resulting in dwindling income for the up to 20-billion-baht industry.
Consumers were also burdened with higher prices of seafood products as supply has dropped by 40 to 50%, he said.
Mr Mongkol said in Samut Songkhram, mackerel currently fetches 100-150 baht per kilogramme, compared to 30-50 baht/kg two years ago, while squid costs 150-300 baht/kg, up from 60-70.
But while the quantity of domestic seafood products has decreased, he said, Thailand is not facing a shortage of seafood products, as the country also imports from foreign countries, including Indonesia.
In a bid to address the labour shortage, Labour Minister Sirichai Distakul said around 1,000 migrant labourers were imported to Thailand under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on labour cooperation with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
In June, a total of 189,937 migrant workers arrived in the country to work with 14,271 Thai employers. Of them, 70,793 were imported from Cambodia, 21,534 from Laos and 97,610 from Myanmar, he said.
Gen Sirichai said the ministry has expedited its efforts to solve labour shortages in the fishing industry, which has played a pivotal role in steering the national economy.
Apart from migrant workers imported under the MoU, the ministry earlier allowed for migrant labourers to register twice annually for the fishing industry.
Also, migrant labourers in the fishing industry whose work permits ended in February were also allowed to report to Thai authorities to extend their stay during Feb 1 to March 3, in accordance with a cabinet resolution on Jan 24.
"Thai employers and migrant workers can also report workplaces changes at provincial employment offices in 22 coastal provinces," said Gen Sirichai.
Meanwhile, in Sa Kaeo, seven Cambodians who illegally entered Thailand were yesterday arrested at a bakery in Aranyaprathet district, on the border with Cambodia. The raid was launched after Thai authorities received a tip-off regarding the illegal crossing.