A fishing community in Trat province near Cambodia has blasted the government for what it sees as overly strict regulations aimed at tackling illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, saying several could prove counterproductive and should be reviewed.
The move comes as European Union fisheries investigators are in the country for a one-week visit to review measures Thai authorities have taken to curb IUU fishing activities.
Thailand's fishing industry received a yellow-card from the EU in April 2015. Failure to resolve the problem could result in a trade ban on exports to the EU, with losses estimated at US$300 million.
Surapong Intaraprasert, adviser to the Fisheries Association of Trat, said several measures are causing jitters among operators and crews of fishing boats that cast surrounding nets.
The rules include the requirement that a skipper keep detailed records of the working and rest hours of crew, while the captain must work in shifts of six hours.
However, an examination of vessel monitoring systems (VMS) has apparently shown that many boats work around the clock, implying the skipper gets no rest.
In reality, he or she would have assistants allow the captain to take breaks, officials say.
But this practice would be in violation of the Marine Department's rule that each boat is only permitted one skipper.
According to Mr Surapong, such a violation is punishable by a fine and every crew member, not just the skipper, will have to pay up.
Non-compliance can result in legal action, he said, adding fishing operators would rather stay in port than take the risk of being slapped with fines or lawsuits.
He noted that, in some cases, the boat owners receive hefty fines of up to 600,000 baht.
According to Mr Surapong, these measures have been introduced without a proper understanding of how trawlers operate.
"The authorities don't understand how those that use surrounding nets operate. There are too many rules and they could have the opposite of the desired effect," he said.
Moreover, since the new rules were implemented, many skippers are refusing to head out to sea due to the legal action they could face if something were to go wrong, he added.
The provincial fisheries association has summarised the problems facing the industry and prepared a proposal for submission to the authorities, he said.
Operators hope the government will relax the regulations as they are hurting business, he added.
"This is why over 100 trawlers in Khlong Yai district are still in port," he said.
