Nine old fishing boats destroyed to guarantee legal fishing

SAMUT SAKHON, Sept 13 (TNA) -- Deputy Prime Minister Chatchai Sarikulya led diplomats from 20 countries to witness the destruction of nine old fishing boats in the Tha Chin River in Samut Sakhon province on September 12 so that their licenses would not be abused for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The nine boats witnessed by the diplomats from the European Union, the United States and ASEAN member states were among 44 decommissioned fishing boats to be demolished in Samut Sakhon. There were 861 such boats to be destroyed nationwide, Gen Chatchai said. The Thai government made concrete progress in solving IUU fishing and all legal fishing boats were registered and supervised. It was the first time for Thai fishing to have a positive image in the eye of the international community, the deputy prime minister said. According to him, there are 10,743 legal boats in the country and 6,315 other fishing boats cannot be registered. The government has improved the fishing law, established efficient regulations and supervision, legalized fishing laborers, cooperated with other countries and promoted local people’s participation to ensure legal fishing. (TNA)