The Fishery and Aquaculture sector profiles available for this country are: Thailand - National Aquaculture Sector Overview (from NASO) NASO National Aquaculture Sector Overview - provides a general overview of the aquaculture and culture based fisheries aspects at national level for each FAO member country....more Thailand - National Aquaculture Legislation Overview (from NALO) NALO National Aquaculture Legislation Overview - is a series of national overviews of laws and regulations that are relevant to aquaculture....more Thailand - Information on fisheries management Information on fisheries management - is a complement to the National Fishery Sector Overview and provide a description of established fisheries management frameworks for each country featured, including overall strategies, policy and legal matters, management methods and measures. Thailand - National Fishery Sector Overview (from NFSO) NFSO National Fishery Sector Overview - provides a comprehensive overview of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors for each country featured, including economic and demographic information, structure of the industry, development prospects, sector management and status and trends....more GENERAL ECONOMIC DATA
FISHERIES DATA Commodity balance (1998; preliminary):
Marine fisheries Marine fisheries have a significant socio-economic role in Thailand, with capture fisheries contributing 2.8 million t (79 percent) to total fisheries production in 1996. Since the early 1990s, the marine fisheries production growth rate has been fairly steady, but is likely to reach a plateau in the near future. The marine catch composition is tropical multi-species, including food fish (52.3 percent), trash fish (31.0 percent), squid and cuttlefish (6.2 percent), shrimps (4.8 percent), shellfish (2.6 percent), crabs and others (1.1 percent). The most abundant food fish are sardinellas, anchovies, Indo-Pacific mackerel, scads, threadfin breams, big-eyes, lizard fish, etc. The marine fish catch comes more from the east coast (68.3 percent) than the west coast (31.7 percent) of peninsular Thailand. During the peak fishing seasons in 1995, there were 53 112 fishery establishments with 161 667 fishermen engaged in marine fisheries, with a total of 54 538 fishing craft of various sizes, of which 5.2 percent were unpowered, 66.8 percent had outboard motors and 28 percent had inboard engines. A survey revealed that small- to medium-sized fishing boats of less than 50 GRT decreased in number while those of more than 50 GRT had increased in number in the past decade. Fishing operations in Thai waters require a fishing licence from the Department of Fisheries. Total fishing gear registrations in 1995 were 17 950, comprising trawl nets (50.0 percent), surrounding nets (7.4 percent), gill nets (28.4 percent), pushnets (4.0 percent) and others 10.2 ( percent). Inland fisheries Inland fisheries have long been a part of Thai culture. It is an open access resource for animal protein for the Thai rural population. Rivers and their tributaries, flood plains, lakes, swamps and reservoirs throughout the countries are important for inland fisheries. The production from inland capture fisheries in 1996 was about 208 400 t. The inland catch composition includes local carp, catfish, snakehead fish, gourami, shrimp and others. Despite widespread constraints due to habitat degradation and increased pollution from industrial wastes, inland capture fisheries production has continued to increase, but the rate of increase is slowing. This is due to rehabilitation efforts and fish re-stocking programmes to augment freshwater fish resources in public waters. Fishing gear commonly used for catching inland fish include gill nets, longlines, hook-and-line, scoop nets, cast nets and lift nets. Aquaculture Aquaculture has expanded rapidly since the late 1980s. Production increased over fourfold, reaching 555 000 t in 1996, and contributed 15.6 percent to total national fisheries production. Coastal aquaculture produced 326 000 t, worth US$ 1 050.73 million, while freshwater aquaculture yielded 228 700 t, valued at US$ 171.89 million. Thailand is a, if not the, major producer of marine shrimp. There were 23 413 shrimp farms with a total area of 72 663 ha supplying 241 000 t of tiger shrimp worth US$ 1 250 million in 1996. Shellfish and marine fish are much less, with production at landing of 80 200 t and 4 800 t, respectively. Freshwater aquaculture is widely practised in most parts of the country, particularly in the central and northeastern areas. There were 154 003 freshwater fish farms, with a total area of 63 000 ha, operating pond, paddy-cum-ditch, and cage fish culture. Annual inland aquaculture production has been steadily increasing, reaching 228 700 t in 1996. The most cultivated species are tilapias, catfish, local carp, gourami, freshwater prawn and others. Freshwater fish culture systems in Thailand are diverse, depending upon target species, supply of land, water and financial resources. The culture systems vary from extensive to intensive, and from monoculture to polyculture or integrated fish culture. Utilization of the catch In 1996, of the total fish production in Thailand, 73 percent was used in various forms for human consumption and 27 percent for animal feed and other purposes. As food fish, 20 percent of the marine catch was consumed fresh, the remainder being processed into products such as chilled, frozen, canned, steamed, smoked, salted, dried, or made into pastes and fish sauces. Fish for animal feed was from marine catches alone, and accounted for 33 percent of marine capture fisheries production. Non-food fish – mainly trash fish – was processed into fishmeal used for animal and aquaculture feeds. In 1996, 277 750 t of fishmeal was produced. It was also reported that 146 723 t of dog and cat canned food were produced as a by-product of seafood processing plants. All freshwater fish production (437 100 t) was used for human food, with 80 percent consumed fresh, 9 percent processed into salted and dried fish, and 5 percent preserved as fermented products. State of the industry Thailand’s fishery industry development was the consequence of rapid fisheries and aquaculture development and the advancement of processing technologies. Apart from 530 400 individuals engaged in the primary fisheries sector, some 200 000 others are involved in fisheries-related industries. There were 144 cold storage plants, 50 canneries, 159 fish fermenting plants, 81 fish steaming plants, and 28 fish smoking plants in 1996. The rapid expansion of aquaculture – particularly shrimp culture – has generated many other aquaculture-related industries and services, including feeds and feedstuffs, chemicals, fertilizers, accessories, construction and consultation services, etc. Economic role of the fishing industry The fishing industry contributes significantly to the socio-economy of Thailand. Fish is the primary accessible animal protein food for most people. The average annual per caput fish consumption rate for Thais during 1990 – 1996 was 28 kg. In term of economic significance, the fisheries sector contributed US$ 2 195 million (1.9 percent) to GDP in 1996. Seafood is one of the top industries that generate major income for Thailand. The main export items are frozen shrimp and canned tuna. Major importers are Japan, USA and the EU. In 1999, seafood exports were worth US$ 4 100 million. The export volume has been dropping gradually, from 1.21 million t in 1994 to 1.16 million t in 1998, but due to increased exports of preserved fish, it amonted to 1.20 million tons (in product weight in 1999. The decrease occurred due to Thailand's reduced price competitiveness. However, the export value increased due to depreciation of the Thai currency following the economic crisis in 1997. DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS With the objective of sustaining fisheries development and management for ensuring food security and foreign exchange earnings, the National Fishery Development Plan envisaged that total fisheries production should be maintained at not less than 3.5 million t/yr through sustainable fisheries development means. Thailand has undertaken concrete efforts in this regard. For marine and coastal fisheries management aspects, rehabilitation of fisheries resources while reducing excessive fishing and minimizing by-catch are being implemented. Measurements introduced include banning of certain fishing gear, restricting fishing seasons and areas, increasing artificial fish spawning and nursing grounds, prohibiting destructive fishing practices, reducing excess fishing capacity, regulating mesh sizes, introducing responsible fishing operation, improving post-harvest technology and strengthening institutional legal and financial frameworks. There is very good potential for Thailand to increase aquaculture production. The national directive aims at increasing production by 5 percent per annum to provide at least 30 kg per person per year of food fish. The Government of Thailand launched a long-term programme in the early 1980s – the Village Fish Pond Programme – as a part of its rural development strategy to increase fish supplies and to promote livelihood opportunities in rural areas. Thailand is trying to maintain its position as the world’s top quality shrimp exporter to earn foreign exchange. A number of projects were recently initiated to increase environmentally-friendly shrimp production. These include developing aquaculture techniques, registering shrimp farms, zoning culture areas, co-managing irrigation, controlling use of agrochemicals, applying HAACP in farming operations, and introducing product quality assurance. Inland fisheries development focuses on intensification of fish stocks in public waters. In 1998, the Department of Fisheries released 650 million fish fry countrywide, with 720 million released in 1999. It is estimated that between 3 and 10 percent of these survive to food-fish size. Demand Domestic demand for fish is still increasing as fish gains more popularity as a more healthy and nutritious food than livestock or poultry. Total supply of fish food for domestic consumption was 1 423 000 t, equivalent to 23.6 kg per caput supply in 1998. It is estimated that an additional 134 000 to 210 000 t are needed to provide sufficient supply to a population of 60 million. Fish demand is high from people leaving in northeastern, northern and central Thailand. RESEARCH Fisheries development in Thailand has been driven by research. The Department of Fisheries was first established as the institute with responsibility for fisheries conservation. Since then, the institutes mandate has been expanded to cover R&D, while maintaining conservation tasks. As the core fisheries research body of the country, with around 3 000 researchers, the Department is organized on a disciplinary basis to fulfil various research needs, including marine fisheries, inland fisheries, coastal aquaculture, shrimp aquaculture, freshwater aquaculture, fisheries conservation and management, fish genetics, fish diseases, fish feed and nutrition, environment and water quality management, and post-harvest technology. The scope and priority of research is directed by an academic board, with the ultimate goals of increasing fisheries productivity, producing cost-effective products, upgrading product quality, conserving the aquatic habitat, sustaining fisheries resource utilization, and increasing fishery product competitivity. AID Thailand has been regarded as an advanced developing country since the early 1990s due to its rapid economic growth. Currently there is no grant aid for fisheries infrastructure development in Thailand. However, such development is made possible through soft-loan channels. To date, assistance by international organizations to Thailand has mainly been through project-type cooperation, with a contribution from both parties. Thailand cooperates with JICA, EU, DANIDA, DANCED, ACIAR, ICLARM, MRC, SEAFDEC and FAO in certain mutual disciplinary interests focusing on sustainable fisheries management, aquaculture development, and human resources development. INTERNET LINKS Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperativeshttp://www.moac.go.th/ Office of Agricultural Economicshttp://www.oac.go.th/ Kasetsart Universityhttp://www.ku.ac.th/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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