Government fights protection for sharks

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Govt draws the line on shark, manta ray listing

Wimol says protection will hurt Thai fishing

Published: 6 Mar 2013 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

The Department of Fisheries is unhappy with a proposal by the United States and South American nations to put sharks and manta rays on Cites's protection list to control international trade of the fish species.

Pol Maj Gen Kiattipong Khawsamang, commander of Surat Thani provincial police, receives the Clark R Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Award 2013 from John E Scanlon, right, secretary-general of Cites, at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center Tuesday. The award is given to law enforcement officers with outstanding records in fighting crime involving wildlife. PANUMAS SANGUANWONG

Bangkok is hosting the 16th conference of the parties to the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) which will run until March 14.

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EddyWally
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Discussion 9 : 06 Mar 2013 at 16.049
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The reason why the Bangkokpost does not mention the policeman's achievements is because no-one knows. It is common for these kind of awards to choose one person of the 10 winners in the hosting nation Thailand, so thats what they did.
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ACR
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Discussion 8 : 06 Mar 2013 at 14.068
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Fish and turtle bans are why US fishing boats have a wood chipper onboard.

The Thai's largest problem is the un-enforcement of commercial fishing inside of their 4.5km area from the shore.

If this bann is enacted, the Thai authorities will use it to hammer the LOCAL fishermen and IGNORE the Commercial boats.
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blobber
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Discussion 7 : 06 Mar 2013 at 11.077
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"Shark fishing is not popular in Thailand. Sharks accounted for less than 0.5% of total fish caught in Thai waters," he said.
That's because nearly all the sharks in Thai waters have been fished out years ago. Let's face it the worlds fishing industries will only be happy when there are no fish left in the sea.
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dao
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Discussion 6 : 06 Mar 2013 at 10.126
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CITES is asking for common sense requests in line with what the rest of the world is already doing minus China Taiwan and Japan .Maybe if our governemnt didnt look at everything in terms of money they could see the forest for the trees .
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mitrapaap
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Discussion 5 : 06 Mar 2013 at 09.015
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The fisheries department chief's argument are indeed a bit fishy.

"Shark fishing is not popular in Thailand.."
- whell then it is not a problem to have it on the list

"Listing the sharks on the protection list could land our fishermen in trouble as they might unintentionally catch the fish "
- even intentionally caught criminals are regularly released in Thailand. Why would that not be possible with an unintentionally caught shark?

"Thailand imports freshwater manta ray from South American countries for breeding and then exports the fish "
- then you get an import and export permission, that's all.
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Laurie
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Discussion 4 : 06 Mar 2013 at 08.314
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Can Bangkok Post please tell us what Pol Maj Gen Kiattipong Khawsamang has done, to deserve this trophy.
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nitnoi
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Discussion 3 : 06 Mar 2013 at 08.183
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The trophy award could have been made of ivory if it were given by Thais. Is it made of resin?Don't you throw the shark back into the sea if you catch it unintentionally?How can you get punishment if you don't keep and sell it. every fishermen can identify sharks and they don't catch them by accident.
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CMfarang
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Discussion 2 : 06 Mar 2013 at 07.502
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"Listing the sharks on the protection list could land our fishermen in trouble as they might unintentionally catch the fish and be punished."

He is assuming law enforcement in Thailand, which is doubtful.
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tcr
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Discussion 1 : 06 Mar 2013 at 07.371
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The fisheries department is one of the most corrupt departments here. They are only in this for the money, not to help protect the environment nor the poor fishermen. Sad.
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Government fights protection for sharks | Bangkok Post: news

Govt draws the line on shark, manta ray listing

Wimol says protection will hurt Thai fishing

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