Thailand hosts 22nd Indian Ocean Tuna Committee Meeting

BANGKOK, May 21 (TNA) -- The Ministry of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives is joining hands with 31 nations on tuna conservation. Minister for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives Luck Wajananawat today chaired the 22nd Indian Ocean Tuna Committee meeting which was attended by 31 member countries. The meeting serves as a platform to support conservation efforts for tuna and other related fish species. One of the most important agenda for the meeting is the review of existing conservation measures and policies to ensure greater effectiveness and relevance. Commenting on the recent incident of a trawler that was observed catching and bringing aboard a whale shark which was later released after being seen by a passing tourist boat, Adisorn Promthep, director-general of the Fisheries Department, confirmed that a complaint has been filed with the police to investigate the matter. By law fishermen are forbidden from catching or bringing aboard whale sharks except to save the animals life. What police investigators must now determine is whether there was an intensional motive to capture the animal by the trawler. In any event, Mr Adisorn stated that the people on the trawler must also be given fair treatment as historically local fishermen worship these gentle marine giants as divine creatures and has never hunted them. Furthermore, there is no local demand for these fishes. (TNA)