Fishing bans three months in Andaman Sea

BANGKOK, March 19 (TNA) -- Fishing in the four southern provinces along the Andaman Sea will be temporarily banned from this April 1 to June 30 aimed at increasing marine animals stocks, said Fisheries Department director-general Vimol Chandrarothai. The fishing ban will be imposed in Phuket, Phangnga, Krabi and Trang provinces during the egg-bearing of marine animals to enable them to grow, said Mr Vimol. Total area of the ban is 4,696 square kilometres. The fishing ban has succeeded as it is found that fishermen are able to catch at the average of 276.76 kilogrammes of marine animals per hour. After the prohibition period, fishermen are able to catch at the average of 722.21 kilogrammes per hour, an increase of 2.61 times, said Mr Vimol. During the ban, certain fishing nets and equipment are not allowed for fishing. Violators will face criminal charges as well as punishments under the Fishery Law issued in 2015. (TNA)