Country review: Thailand (Andaman Sea)

Peter Flewwelling and Gilles Hosch
FAO Consultants, Fishery Policy and Planning Division, Fisheries Department
December 2003

INTRODUCTION

This paper provides general data^[216] on Thailand marine capture fisheries management in the Andaman Sea.

Thailand is a peninsular country with a total land area of approximately 514 000 sq km, lying between 5°-20° N and 97°-106° E. Its maritime borders are shared with Cambodia and Vietnam in the southeast, Myanmar in the west, and Malaysia in the south. The west and north west mountains and the high eastern plain are drained into the central basin and then to the Gulf of Thailand by four river systems: the Chao Phraya; Tha Chin; Mea Klong; and the Bang Pakong. There are 23 coastal provinces surrounding the two main fishing areas, the Gulf of Thailand (17 provinces) and the Andaman Sea (6 provinces), these being in turn divided into five internal maritime regions: one of these being the Andaman Sea. The Gulf of Thailand has a maximum of 85 m and is covered by a sandy and muddy bottom. On the west coast, the Andaman Sea has a narrow continental shelf shelving deeper offshore. It has a slightly wider area in the north and a narrow area in the south; the latter area comprising mangroves and sea grasses. The bottom for the most part is sand, mud and coral remnants.

Climate is influenced by the wet southwest monsoon from May-September, with temperatures ranging from 29°-36° C and high humidity, and then by the dryer northeast monsoon from October to early May with cooler temperatures, ranging between 15°-25° C.

Population and the Economy

The population of Thailand was estimated at 63.39 million in mid-2003^[217]. The GDP was estimated at US$ 126.4 billion in 2002. It is noteworthy that the agriculture and fisheries sector contributes approximately 10.1% to the GDP with fisheries being 2.5% of the total.

POLICY FRAMEWORK

The Department of Fisheries (DOF) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is the key agency responsible for fisheries management. The objectives for fisheries management evolve from the National Economic and Social Development Plans issued by the government. Thailand is currently guided by its ninth plan (2002-2006) that continues its fisheries policies from the earlier 8^th Plan with an emphasis on poverty alleviation. The following are the policy directives for fisheries:

• Fisheries development and management inside Thai waters: Attain fisheries production of at least 1.58 million mt/yr from marine capture fisheries; rehabilitation of the fisheries resources and environment; and reduction of by-catch and low value catch by 100 000 mt per year to maintain food security and employment for fishers;

• Fisheries development and management outside Thai waters: Implement regulations to govern the conduct of Thai fishing fleets in waters outside Thailand; enhance offshore fisheries development by making available approximately 3 500 vessels for these outside EEZ activities with a production target of at least 1.8 million mt annually;

• Aquaculture development and management: Increase production by about five percent per year from the current 550 000 mt/yr;

• Post-harvest technology development: Improve quality assurance and produce for export of at least one million mt per year with an annual growth rate of ten percent (carried over from earlier Plan) (Menasvata, 1997).

Although these Plans set the goals and specific objectives for fisheries and are excellent to measure outputs, the regular development of strategic plans for implementation by area or fishery are still outstanding. Annual fisheries strategies appear a bit more re-active as opposed to pro-active (Flewwelling, 2001), although new initiatives are underway (e.g., EU CHARM Project on both the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand) to be pro-active and enhance community co-management systems.

The legal support for fisheries policies comes from the Act Governing the Right to Fish within Thai Waters B.E., 2482 of 1939, and then the base Fisheries Act B.E. 2490 of 1947, which focused heavily on increased fisheries production. It is noteworthy that a new Fisheries Law B.E. 2545 is before Parliament at this time, and it will address many of the current fisheries concerns, including: (i) the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries; (ii) UN Fish Stocks Agreement; and (iii) FAO Compliance Agreement. Further, it will introduce participatory and consultative processes of stakeholders into fisheries management. The challenge for the Government remains the actual use and implementation of the conservation clauses in the new legislation.

The key responsibilities for DOF at present are to enhance fisheries production for food security, poverty reduction, and marketing. In the new fisheries legislation the policies^[218] will include:

• research and development for aquaculture, stock enhancement, improved international standards for fishery products, technology transfer, and enhanced marketing;

• applied research and surveys to increase productivity and manage the utilization of aquatic resources;

• implementation and management measures for national fisheries, aquaculture, trade and compliance;

• management of international fisheries affairs.

This represents a significant enhancement of fisheries management initiatives for Thailand. A further enhancement for fisheries is the establishment of a new Department of Coastal and Marine Resources (DCMR) within the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment. The relationship between the responsibilities and mandates of DOF and DCMR for fisheries is still being negotiated.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Fisheries legislation targets the following main priorities^[219]:

• Conservation and sustainable management; and

• Revenue generation.

As noted above, the DOF is responsible for fisheries management, but this is to be shared in the near future with the new Department of Coastal and Marine Resources (DCMR) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment. It is expected that there will be joint responsibility for the fish and ecosystems management in the coastal areas, while DOF will maintain its sole management responsibility for the offshore and international fisheries matters.

Acts

The following acts are primary for fisheries management:

• Act Governing the Right to Fish within Thai Waters B.E., 2482 of 1939;

• Fisheries Act B.E. 2490 of 1947, which has been focused on increased fisheries production;

• Act Organizing the Activities of the Fish Market B.E. 2496; and

• the new Fisheries Law B.E. 2545 (currently before Parliament for consideration).

The act forming the Department of Coastal and Marine Fisheries is also a key piece of legislation that will impact on fisheries management in the future. The closer liaison and use of marine schools and departments of the universities for fisheries advice will also have an impact on fisheries management in the future.

Finally, legislation that indirectly impacts on fisheries management and policies includes:

• National Parks Act B.E. 2504 of 1961 (impact on marine parks and their licensing of or management of these parks);

• Wildlife Reservation and Protection Act B.E. 2535 of 1992 (Wildlife reserves in coastal and marine areas and their licensing of fishers for these areas); and

• Import and Export Act (quality standards for finished products - USA and HACCP Standards).

Although the legislation does not define fisheries management per se, it does establish clear responsibilities for management between national and regional^[220] levels. Further, stakeholders and community levels are not yet formally mandated to be involved in the decision-making processes however, the DOF has been increasing the scope of its consultation processes to include these groups in accordance with the direction contained in the Thai Constitution B.E. 2540 of 1997 whereby, although centralized in authority, all fisheries management decisions are well publicized prior to implementation.

It is noted that the Department of Harbours registers all vessels and operators while the DOF licenses only fishing gears that have a large impact on the fishery, such as: trawls, gillnets and purse seines. Many other fisheries remain unlicensed and virtually unrecorded, such as: traps, hook and line fisheries, etc (Flewwelling, 2001).

It is to be noted that implementation of fisheries legislation is the responsibility of the DOF, DCMR, Marine Police, Royal Thailand Navy and the Office of Immigration. Law enforcement remains a central authority not yet delegated to regional or local levels and the inter-agency mechanism established under an earlier National Economic and Development Plan needs to be revisited and enhanced to resolve overlapping mandates.

STATUS OF THE FISHERIES

The total fish production for all of Thailand in the year 2000 (the latest year of full statistics) was estimated by DOF as 3.7 million mt. The total fishery involved some 826 980 fishers using approximately 17 295 DOF registered fishing apparatus from 53 538 Department of Harbours registered fishing vessels^[221]. The marine catch was valued at some 49.40 billion baht or just over US$ 1.1 billion in 2000. Per capita fish consumption was estimated at 25-32 kg/individual.

The capture fisheries account for some 2.77 million mt, or 79% of total fisheries production^[222]. The catch is classed as tropical, multi-species catch comprised mainly of sardinellas, anchovies, Indo-Pacific mackerel, scads, threadfin breams, big-eyes, and lizard fish. Catch usage falls into the following categories: a) 52% food fish, b) 31% trash fish, and c) 17% squid and cuttlefish, shrimp, shellfish and others.

Three key commercial and artisanal fisheries in the Andaman Sea area are described below. It is reported (FAO Thailand Country Profile Web Page) that 31.7% of the total marine catch is taken in the Andaman Sea. It should be noted that fisheries in the Andaman Sea are concentrated on a continental shelf wider in the north and narrowing in the south, a small portion of the total 394 000 km² shelf area of Thailand. Reported statistics for the key fisheries are as follows:

TABLE 1
Fishers and their Catches - Andaman Sea^[223]

Key fishing gear in the Andaman Sea area of Thailand waters^[225] includes:

• shrimp gillnets, bigfin squid traps, and crab gillnets in the eastern Phuket area;

• anchovy purse seines, falling nets and lift nets with lights in the same area;

• purse seines with lights are most popular in the north Andaman Sea, near the border with Myanmar; and

• purse seines and falling nets, both with lights are preferred in the south, near the Malaysian border.

It has been reported that the number of fishing vessels greater than 50 gt in all of Thailand has increased over the past decade. Registered fishing gear by DOF in 2000 indicated 17 295 registered fishing gears (50% trawls; 28.4% gillnets; 7.4% surround nets; 4% push nets and others taking the remainder).

MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY

The key strategies in the National Fisheries Development Policy set the direction for management. Overall fisheries management objectives, as presented by the Minister when detailing the restructuring of the Department in late 2002 included the following:

• sustained fisheries for food security;

• improved livelihood to increase employment; and

• earning of foreign exchange through the use of responsible fisheries practices.

The central government/DOF develops fishery management plans for key fisheries. Managers are responsible, and have legal authority for implementation of measures to achieve these national policies and objectives. The fisheries management strategies^[226] rely on the following steps:

• sound scientific base provided by the department;

• the decision-making process at the DOF;

• drafting of regulatory measures;

• publication of management strategies and new regulatory measures for discussions with stakeholders; and

• implementation and enforcement.

These are also the key challenges for the Department at this time, especially the enactment of the new legislation, its socialization to the stakeholders, and its implementation. At this time stakeholder involvement in the initial planning process and in implementation is not common, but it is increasing through assistance from donor initiatives. Management measures generally follow the “open access” policy, except for high profile fisheries such as push nets and trawlers where there is limited access in an attempt to control and reduce these fisheries.

Currently the three key commercial fisheries: trawl fishery; purse seine fishery; and gillnet and entanglement net fisheries have had periodic management plans and regulatory measures implemented since 1975^[227]. It is reported that more than 67% of all commercial fisheries have associated regulations reflecting management priorities, approximately 1/3-2/3 have more formal management plans, but less than 1/3 have local/provincial or community management plans. Management plans are not a tool utilized for the management of artisanal^[228] fisheries, it is more through a direct regulatory process for this sub-sector.

Specific objectives for these fisheries have been highlighted by the Government as follows:

Trawl fishery

• Protection of spawning stock;

• Protection of juveniles; and

• Sustainability of the fishery.

Purse seine fishery

• Limit size of fish caught through minimum mesh size; and

• Control fishing areas by zone.

Encircling gillnets

• Protection of spawning mass.

  Management measures that the Kingdom of Thailand has taken for implementation include:

• Prohibiting trawlers and push netters from fishing within 3 km of the coast and requiring them to be fitted with turtle exclusion devices (TEDs);

• Establishing closed seasons and areas for rehabilitation of marine stocks;

  - preservation areas for full protection as fish sanctuaries;;

  - leasable areas for fixed or stationary gear;

  - reserved areas for special purposes, e.g., coral reefs, sea grass beds and mangroves; and

  - public fishing areas.

A recent meeting of the Communities under the EU CHARM Project is actively seeking to make advances in coastal area management. Excerpts^[229] are given in Box 1:

Further, DOF is carrying out other conservation measures, inter alia:

• Establishing artificial reefs for spawning grounds;

• Reducing excess fishing vessels (ongoing in planning stages);

• Planned freezing of construction on new trawlers and push netters;

• Establishing mesh sizes to reduce by-catches;

• Promoting community-based management;

• Strengthening research for setting sustainable fishing levels;

• Upgrading post-harvest technology to utilize the entire catch for human consumption;

• Strengthening legal, financial and institutional frameworks; and

• Other initiatives focused on aquaculture and inland fisheries development and management.

In summary, the following restrictions are utilized:

• spatial restrictions including MPAs, nursery area closures, no-take zones, marine reserves and other temporary closures of areas;

• temporal restrictions such as defined fishing seasons;

• gear restrictions on vessel size and gear types and mesh sizes for encircling gillnets for Indo-Pacific mackerel;

• participatory restrictions through licensing and in the trawl fishery - limited entry; and groups rights (pilot initiative) are all in use as fisheries management measures.

The use of these control measures has been increasing over the past few years for new fisheries management plans^[230].

It has been noted that despite the increased stakeholder involvement, use of the above management measures, and conflict resolution mechanisms to resolve competition between vessel types and fisheries, the situation has not improved with respect to stabilizing stock levels. Capacity reduction measures including shortening seasons, and buyouts of licenses have had little impact on reducing the trawl fisheries, but have been relatively successful in the purse seine and encircling gillnet fisheries. Despite the use of compliance tools including higher penalties, at-sea boarding and inspections, revocation of licenses, and increased budgets for compliance activities - the infractions in the trawl and encircling gillnet fisheries have increased over the past ten years. Funding is perceived as insufficient to address all compliance issues, possibly as a result of the “open access” management style with a continuation of new entrants, further complicated by inadequacies in the data management system.

Earlier reference has also been made to the artisanal fisheries being “open access” fisheries. Although more species-specific through the use of selective fishing gears, and with similar management measures in place, these fisheries are becoming more problematic. At present there have been no capacity surveys or measures taken to address concerns in the artisanal fishery.

COSTS AND REVENUES OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

Costs of fisheries management are shouldered solely by the central government with no legislated cost recovery mechanisms in place, aside from minimal fisheries licensing fees, and as noted these come from only a portion of the whole fishery. Costs for management have increased significantly over the past ten years due to increased consultation, monitoring, enforcement, litigation, and conflict resolution requirements. These costs have not yet been passed in total, or in part, on to stakeholders. The priorities of government for fisheries need to run on parallel tracks of implementing responsible sustainable fisheries and marine sector management, as well as seeking ways to obtain stakeholders’ ownership and cost sharing.

IMPLEMENTATION OF GLOBAL FISHERIES MANDATES AND INITIATIVES

Thailand is a participant of CITES, UNCLOS 1982, and is a signatory to the Convention on Biodiversity.

Thailand has taken action to address the IPOA for conservation and management of sharks through the implementation of statistics collection, biological studies, and development of a national plan of action. Further, Thailand has commenced work on the IPOA for fisheries management capacity, but is limited by its lack of funding and may not complete the measurement and assessment prior to 2005. For the IPOA for IUU fishing, the new Fisheries Act improves vessel licensing and registration controls, and places an obligation and responsibility on the fishing vessel owner to comply with third party legislation when fishing in their waters, e.g., Thailand vessels fishing for Indonesian companies. Commitment for action in these and other IPOAs via national action plans and funding are another challenge facing the Government.

PARTICIPATION IN REGIONAL FISHERY BODIES

It is noteworthy that the Kingdom of Thailand hosts several regional offices including the regional office for FAO fisheries and SEAFDEC. Thailand is a member of the following organizations:

• Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC);

• Southeast Asian Fishery Development Centre (SEAFDEC);

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);

• Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem (BOBLME);

• Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN);

• Asia-Pacific Fisheries Committee (APFIC);

• Asian Pacific Economic Commission (APEC) - for fisheries working group on marine resources conservation.

Further, Thailand also participates in the Conservation and Management of Marine Turtles in the Indian Ocean, although not as a full member.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Thailand is a peninsular, tropical country, with 2 624 km of coast, a continental shelf area of 394 000 km², almost 60% of the total land area of approximately 514 000 km². Its maritime borders are shared with Cambodia and Vietnam in the southeast, Myanmar in the west, and Malaysia in the south. The Andaman Sea has a narrow continental shelf, shelving deeper offshore, slightly wider in the north and a narrow area in the south, a small fraction of the total shelf area of the country.

Marine capture fisheries account for some 2.77 million mt annually (79% of total fish production), valued at US$ 1.1 million employing approximately 900 000 fishers using 17 295 fishing gears. Approximately 31.7% of the entire Thailand fishery is in the Andaman Sea. Fisheries policy is set through the publication of National Economic and Social Development Plans of which a National Fisheries Development Policy is a component. The DOF is the mandated fisheries management agency, but implementation is assisted by components from the Marine Police, Royal Thailand Navy, and the Office of Immigration. The establishment of the Department of Coastal and Marine Resources under the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment will undoubtedly result in a joint management effort for the marine resources in the coastal areas, but DOF will maintain its sole authority for offshore and high seas fisheries matters.

The legislative framework is currently undergoing considerable change to meet international agreements and principles for sustainable and responsible fisheries. The new Fisheries Law BE 2445 will provide the legal base to support such action and bring Thailand up to date with respect to international principles for responsible fisheries and marine resource management. The challenge for the Government will be the commitment for the implementation of the new law. In the Andaman Sea key commercial fisheries include: trawl fishing, purse seine fishing, gillnet and push nets in the very shallow coastal waters. Entangling nets, while small gillnets, traps and hook and lines are used in the artisanal fisheries. Participatory management planning with stakeholder involvement is in pilot stages and not yet ensconced in law, but consultation at the field level is becoming more common. Management is usually by regulatory measures using most of the available traditional restrictions: spatial, temporal, gear, participatory (licensing as a tool and limited entry for push nets and the trawl fishery) restrictions. Thailand is pilot testing, through the assistance of donor initiatives (EU CHARM Project), the utilization of group rights as a management tool. Similar measures are in use in the artisanal fishery, but the latter is totally an “open access” fishery management regime. The costs of management are reported to be increasing due to consultation and more enforcement action, but mechanisms are not yet being considered for cost recovery or cost sharing with stakeholders.

Further challenges will emerge with respect to:

• the inter-agency liaison between the DOF and the new DCMR as well as the devolution of authority to the Districts for 0-3 nm. The latter will also require attention to enhanced capacity and funding at this devolved level; and

• the focus on high seas fish captures where Thai fishers are now encountering more stringent internationally supported rules and strategies to curb IUU fishing and with resultant challenges to the veracity of their high seas fishing operations.

The advantages of the marine reserve system as applied in Malaysia could be useful as a tool for management for Thailand’s coastal fisheries initiatives. The CHARM project and others are working at strengthening devolution of authority to provinces and districts and coastal, co-management initiatives, but this is still very much in selected areas and with the expansion of agencies and “players” in the exercise these initiatives will take time to become ensconced in the normal planning and implementing processes.

Thailand is gradually moving to adopt international principles for sustainable and responsible fisheries management, and is actively participating in regional and sub-regional fisheries organizations to address international fisheries affairs. The most recent of these was the Nov/03 bilateral agreement with Indonesia to better control the Thailand fleet that fishes in Indonesian waters. It is noted however, that its commitment to MCS and its fleet control is generally weak. Enhanced effective planning and utilization of the MCS patrol fleet for management could prove beneficial at all levels of government involvement. Application of the regional training in MCS in Songkhla would provide a significant step towards responsible fisheries management and implementation to address global and national fisheries sustainability issues, e.g., IUU fishing, management of fishing capacity, etc.

REFERENCES

FAO. 2003. Status of World Marine Capture Fisheries Questionnaire and supplementary documents, completed by the Department of Fisheries Thailand, 2003. (unpublished)

FAO Web Pages, Ocean Law, Fisheries Country Profiles, (www.fao.org/fi/fcp/en/THA/profile.htm).

FAO. 2000. Information on Fisheries Management in Thailand. (www.fao.org/fi/fcp/en/THA/body.htm).

Flewwelling, P. 2001. Comparative study of fisheries management and MCS in 10 Asian Countries, (unpublished), Philippines.

Menasveta, D. 1997. Fisheries Management Frameworks of the Countries Bordering the South China Sea, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication 1997/33, 151p.

Country background information (UNESCO and WORLD BANK); ICT Infrastructure and access (ITU and UNESCO); Computers and the internet (ITU and WITSA); ICT Expenditures (WITSA); ICT business and government environment (World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2001-2002) ratings.

APPENDIX TABLES

Summary information for three largest fisheries (by volume) (2000) in Thailand (Andaman Sea)

* Value in 2002 U.S. Dollars.
** % values are based on totals for each category of fishery.

Use of Fishery Management Tools within the three largest fisheries in Thailand (Andaman Sea)

Costs and Funding Sources of Fisheries Management within the three largest fisheries in Thailand (Andaman Sea)

Compliance and Enforcement within the three largest fisheries in Thailand (Andaman Sea)

Capacity Management within the three largest fisheries in Thailand (Andaman Sea)