Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nationsfor a world without hunger
The newly enacted Royal Ordinance on Fisheries of 2015 (the Royal Ordinance) establishes “National Fisheries Committee” (the Committee) with the power and duty to develop fisheries policies. One of the policies the Committee is vested to determine is on the country’s aquaculture development. National Aquaculture Development Policies (NAqDP) is a policy document outlining the contributions of the aquaculture sector in carrying out National Economic and Social Development Plan (NESDP) and National Agricultural Development Plan (NADP). Specific strategies for lucrative species such as shrimp and tilapia may also be developed. NESDP and NADP 2017 – 2021 were adopted in late 2016. Since then, the Committee has established an ad-hoc committee to devise NAqDP which remains under the consultation and drafting process. At the provincial level, fisheries policies and plans are developed by Provincial Fisheries Committees (PFC). PFC are authorized to designate aquatic species sanctuary, prescribe requirements for fishing gears, fishing methods, bycatch as well as other conditions for fishing operations in their respective provinces. The Royal Ordinance on Fisheries of 2015 provides for the overarching legislative framework governing management of aquatic resources in Thailand. It also aims to ensure legal working conditions and welfare of workers in all areas of the fisheries sector. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MAC) is charged with the responsibility to determine matters for the execution of this Royal Ordinance in subsequent Ministerial Regulations. Department of Fisheries (DOF) has the principal mission of implementing laws and regulations regarding fisheries, exploitation rights, fishing port, wildlife conservation and protection, as well as feed, veterinary drug, disease control of commercial aquatic animals and other regulations relating to fisheries and aquaculture operations. The Royal Ordinance is further implemented by Provincial and District Fisheries Officers. Among others, they are tasked with ensuring that aquaculture operation in their localities is in compliance with relevant regulations and guidelines. This is done in collaboration with local authorities and municipalities.
Standards can be either voluntary or mandatory. They can also focus on any aspect ranging from characteristics of agricultural commodity (quality, safety, sanitary or phytosanitary issues etc.), production methods and procedures, packaging and labelling, to inspection, assessment, and analysis. Certificate for both type of standards can be granted by the Bureau or licensed conformity assessment service providers (certification bodies) upon compliance inspection. Once MAC issued a mandatory standard in Ministerial Regulation for any agricultural commodity, all producer, exporter or importer of the commodity must obtain a license from the Bureau. This license is 3-year renewable and non-transferable. As of early 2017, there is only one mandatory standard in relation to the aquaculture sector, namely the standard on HATCHERY OF DISEASE FREE PACIFIC WHITE SHRIMP: TAS 7432-2015. Since its enactment, Good Aquaculture Standards (GAqP) are promulgated as standards under this Act. The Fisheries Commodity Standard System and Traceability Division of DOF is the primary entity for certification of GAqP and other fisheries-related standards. There are numerous voluntary aquaculture standards for species such as abalone, blue swimming crab and mud crab, crocodile, softshell turtle, marine shrimp, tilapia, striped snake-head fish, and ornamental freshwater animals. There are also generic guidelines on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), veterinary drugs, marine finfish/shrimp farm, as well as freshwater aquatic animal farm and hatchery/nursery. Code of Conduct for marine shrimp farm and hatcher/nursery promulgated by DOF in 2003 still remains in force having been afforded legality and enforceability by the Royal Ordinance.
Anyone engaging in aquaculture is to register with local DOF authorities to ensure access to government support and monitoring of regulatory compliance. Only marine shrimp farmers are required to register with Fisheries Offices prior to operation. Registration application must include written consent from the local municipalities and area plan of the operation. For marine shrimp farming operation larger than 80 000 square meters, one-year approval needs to also be acquired and continuously renewed on top of the registration.
Criteria for granting license include total capacity, proximity from aquatic sanctuary and raw water capture point for utility, as well as impacts on navigation, irrigation, nearby communities and the environment. Furthermore, licensees must abide by the following conditions:
Such control is aimed to prevent harmful environmental consequences, hazards to consumers and negative impact on other enterprises. This control applies regardless of whether the operation is within the public domain or not. Thus far, there are six (6) categories of controlled aquaculture including designated species such as marine shrimp, cray fish, crocodile, and sea shells. Only one aquaculture method (cage and pen culture) is controlled. For each category, Provincial Fisheries Committee must prescribe designated zone for its operation within the province. For cray fish (Procambarus clarkia) farmers, there are additional obligations to:
Currently, aquaculture is not included among the designated activities that would trigger an EIA requirement.
MoNRE is also granted authority to regulate wastewater discharge from point sources in the form of effluent standards. Owners and operators of regulated point sources must invest in on-site treatment facility to monitor, control and treat wastewater ensuring constant compliance with the discharge standards. Furthermore, an effective by-law of the Royal Ordinance on Fisheries imposes further conditions on particular quality of discharge from all registered and approved shrimp farms. It also demands that water treatment facilities must be installed with at least 10% of the operation areas dedicated to it. To date, specific effluent standards for coastal, brackish, and in-land aquaculture have been adopted and enforced by the collaboration between DOF, Department of Pollution Control of MoNRE and Marine Department under Ministry of Transport.
Moreover, DOF is authorized by the Royal Ordinance to regulate importation, exportation, transiting and culturing and possession of rare aquatic species. Up to now, over 700 species have been declared as rare for protection. To meet traceability requirement, the Royal Ordinance requires those engaged in controlled aquaculture to furnish their buyers with purchasing documents in accordance with indicated form and format. In 2005, DOF developed a voluntary computerized traceability system known as TraceShrimp. Fish Escapement For each category of controlled aquaculture, DOF is authorized to determine prohibited specimen origins, to define characteristics of feed, drugs, chemicals not allowed for use well as well as to require preventative measures aimed to minimize negative impacts to the environment and customers. Out of the 7 categories under aquaculture control, DOF has only issued specific requirements for cray fish farming that specify containment specifications to prevent escapement.
Under Section 65 of the Royal Ordinance, MAC can require permits for importation, exportation, transiting as well as culturing and possession of any kind of aquatic animal in order to curtail foreseeable harm potentially caused by epidemic diseases. Thus far, MAC has announced the following 5 species for this permit requirement:
The Ministry of Public Health can mandate registration, import license, use conditions of listed over-the-counter products and pharmaceutical components. In 2009, MAC issued GAP addressing the use of veterinary drugs for food producing animals to avoid the excess of maximum residue limits. On the other hand, chemical substance is governed by the Hazardous Substances Act of 1992. Hazardous substances are classified into four (4) categories with varying degree of requirements on specified criteria and procedures, registration, notification, permit, and prohibition. Even though the primary responsibility to administer the Hazardous Substances Act rests with the Ministry of Industry, the Act bestows direct authority to DOF as responsible agencies for control of chemicals used in fisheries and aquaculture.
The application of this Act for aquatic feed is administered Aquatic Feed Research and Development Division of DOF. The Act also authorizes MAC to declare prohibited material in animal feed mixture. Thus far, only the use of antimicrobial as growth promoter is explicitly banned.
In this area, Fish Inspection and Quality Control Division is the main implementer within DOF. The Division inspects processing plants, analyzes raw material and end-product samples, validates qualities and issues health certificates to processor mainly for the purpose of export to high-value markets. The Division relies on Good Manufacturing Standards (GMP) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) to carry out its mission. The Royal Ordinance also empowers DOF to develop hygiene standards relating to the catching, caretaking, and processing of aquatic animals, and the storage, transportation or transshipment of aquatic animals and animal products. However, these are aimed more at regulating wide-catch rather than aquaculture.
Investment Promotion Act of 1977 with the latest amendment in 2017 sets out criteria and procedure of application for investment promotion in Thailand. The Act is mainly administered by Board of Investment (BOI) and operationalized by 7-year Investment Promotion Strategy. The current strategy cycle is 2017-2021. Board of Investment classifies 2 groups of incentives
Under the current strategy, aquaculture except for shrimp is listed as an activity eligible for activity-based incentives provided that applying projects abide by the following conditions
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nationsfor a world without hunger
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