The Department of Fisheries has approved additional days for commercial fishing as fewer trawlers are going out to sea due to labour shortages that have plagued the sector.
Gen Chatchai Sarikulya, deputy prime minister and chairman of the sub-committee on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, said that more and more commercial trawlers are refusing to go out to sea because of the limited number of workers available. The pool of potential workers has fallen as Thailand continues to improve its labour management system.
The population of fish and other commercial marine animals have also significantly improved as Thailand's efforts to conserve its marine resources begins to pay off, he said.
"As a result, we decided to expand the fishing period right until the end of the season," he said. "This will help minimise the impact on total catches."
Thailand's annual fishing season usually runs from April 1 to March 31 -- averaging 240 days each year. The number of fishing days per season depends on the number of registered commercial trawlers, as well as the location of the fishing grounds. These limitations were put in place as part of the country's effort to eradicate IUU fishing.
The extended fishing period was formally announced by the department on Dec 27. The announcement said trawlers stationed in the Gulf of Thailand will be allowed to fish for an additional 24 days, while trawlers in the Andaman Sea will be allowed to go fishing without limits until March 31.
The department said there were 5,327 active trawlers based in Thai waters in 2018.
The government has been focusing on combatting IUU fishing in the past three years, after the European Union threatened to ban all marine product exports from Thailand unless it implements substantial measures to deal with the issue.
To address the concerns, the government issued a Royal Ordinance on Fisheries, reined in Thailand's fishing fleet size, developed a monitoring and surveillance system, and improved the enforcement of existing laws -- measures which critics say are making the lives of fishermen more difficult.
Earlier, the National Fisheries Association of Thailand submitted a letter to Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-O-cha, calling for assistance to reduce the impact of its measures on fishermen.
In its petition, the group demanded the establishment of a welfare fund for fishermen, as well as an expanded quota of fishing days.