Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Pitipong Phuengboon Na Ayudhaya is considering buying illegal fishing boats docked at ports due to stiff measures against illegal fishing.
Illegal boats would be bought and put up for auction, Mr Pitipong said Wednesday.
Funds raised from the auction or the sale of fishing gear would fund artificial reefs and coral projects as part of measures to rehabilitate the marine environment, he said.
The ministry said the scheme will help about 3,000 medium-sized fishing trawlers in all 22 coastal provinces which failed to comply with the government's new rules to curb illegal fishing, which took effect on July 1.
The idea is being proposed to the cabinet for approval, the minister said.
Mr Pitipong said many owners of fishing vessels with illegal equipment wanted to sell their boats and leave the fishing business for another job.
He said the ministry must determine the exact number of illegal fishing vessels by the end of this month - the final day to register for a licence.
However, the minister did not elaborate on details of the auction, the number of boats the ministry planned to buy, or the budget to spend on the purchase, as the number of illegal fishing vessels has not yet been finalised.
Meanwhile, the ministry was now working to provide loans with low interest to operators who wanted to replace their illegal fishing equipment with legal gear to comply with the European Union's rules against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
Mr Pitipong also proposed offering jobs on fishing vessels to navy conscripts who are about to finish their military service but cannot decide how to make a living.
The aim would be for the conscripts to replace illegal workers. The minister didn't elaborate on details about the number of conscripts, their job descriptions or salaries.
Fisheries Department director-general Joompol Sanguansin denied the department was lax in helping fishing trawlers.
The department will train the operators of trawlers with 30 gross tonnage or smaller to keep a logbook and properly record their daily catches, he said.
Meanwhile, fishing trawler operators in Trat's Khlong Yai district are struggling to employ Thai skippers on their boats to go to sea to catch fish.
Yaowalak Preutkitiwong, a fishing vessel owner, 60, said some vessels couldn't go out to catch fish because the law stipulates that trawler skippers must be Thai nationals. He said it is difficult to find Thai people to work on the boats.
Operators were forced to hire Thai people aged 50 to 60 to stand in as skippers.
Senior assistant Khlong Yai district chief, Peerawat Wangratkul, said his office is looking to allow immigrants who are about to gain Thai nationality status to work as skippers, in a measure intended to bridge the gap.