Although the industry has made progress in diagnosing the disease and improving management practices, Thailand's marine shrimp farming sector has not yet recovered to the high levels prior to the outbreak.
The National Statistical Office and the Fisheries Department define SSF as non-powered, outboard-powered, or inboard powered fishing boats of less than 10 gross tons (GT) generally operating inshore.
Important groups of species are anchovy, short mackerel, big-eye sardines, threadfin beam, round scads, and small tuna.
However, fish from both the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand are decreasing annually and the industry relies on imported raw material such as pollock, salmon, and other white and red meat fish,[11] Thailand's total fishery exports increased by 4% from US$5.6 billion in 2016 to US$5.8 billion in 2017.
The top five markets for Thai fishery products are Japan, the United States, Australia, Canada, and China.
[18] An increasing shortage of domestic raw materials has driven Thailand to become a large importer of fish products to serve its fishery processing for export.
[22] In 1950, the newly constituted Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimated that, globally, about 20 million metric tons of fish (cod, mackerel, tuna) and invertebrates (lobster, squid, clams) were caught.
"[3] A twelve-month analysis of the catch composition, landing patterns, and biological aspects of sharks caught by Thai commercial fishing boats in the Andaman Sea off Thailand showed a significant difference from the results of a similar study done in 2004.
The National Fisheries Association of Thailand says its members will stop fishing unless the government pays for the 1,300 decommissioned trawlers.
[36] Climate change poses a serious threat to the sustainability of the fisheries industry in the ASEAN region including Thailand.
[37] On 9 June 2020, the Department of Fisheries met with concerned parties to discuss new maximum sustainable yield (MSY) fishing quotas for Thai waters.
[39] As Captains seek to meet market demands, an increasing number of long-haul fishing vessels has emerged.
[43] Such legislation failed to meet international standards to combat IUU fishing, set out under UNCLOS, overlooking issues such as human trafficking at sea, and other labour violations.
[46] Ambiguities regarding the governance of fisheries was intensified as a result, a lack of definitional clarity led to the increased use of forced labour on IUU vessels.
[47] On 21 April 2015, the European Union (EU) threatened Thailand, the third-largest seafood exporter in the world, with a trade ban if it did not take action on IUU fishing.
In 2015, following the media exposés, the EU imposed a "yellow card" on Thailand, a warning that the country was not sufficiently combating IUU fishing.Thailand failed to certify the origin and legality of its fish exports to the EU and was given six months, until October 2015, to implement a satisfactory action plan to address the shortcomings.
[50] In the view of the Bangkok Post, "The [Thai] fisheries bureaucracy's record is extremely shabby, resulting in a breakdown in state regulation of commercial trawlers.
[46] To achieve these objectives the Thai government signed several international treaties and allocated €87 million (2015-2018) to implement the new measures.
[46] The EU pointed to Thai measures that included amending its fisheries legal framework in line with international laws of the sea; ensuring compliance with its obligations as a flag, port, coastal, and market state, including updated legislation; establishing a clear and enforceable set of sanctions; and bolstering its control of the national fishing fleet by enhancing monitoring, power, and surveillance systems, including remote sensing of fishing activities and a strict policy of inspections at port.
With a complete near overhaul of fisheries management between 2015-2019, the approach has been dominated by top-down national and international voices, often excluding local opinions, and obtaining data from secondary sources.
Due to legal restrictions on forming unions, fish workers, particularly migrants, are given little space to voice opinions regarding fishery management.
[46] In December 2019, commercial fishers across Thailand rallied to protest newly imposed restrictions designed to counter IUU.
A joint committee of state agencies and fishing associations will be formed to study other demands for more lax restrictions.
The death toll has hovered around 400 for three consecutive years and represents less than 10% of the 5,000 rare species found in Thailand's territorial waters.
Bycatch in Thailand is largely unregulated, leaving, for example, only about 100 whale sharks in Thai waters according to the Department of Coastal and Marine Resources.
[64] More than 100 Bangkok restaurants serve shark fin soup[65] An uproar ensued in December 2019 when it was discovered that Thai government officials, including the prime and interior ministers, and their coalition party allies, were served shark fin soup at a dinner at the Rajpruek Club in Bangkok.
[67][68] Media coverage by The Guardian,[69] Associated Press,[70] and New York Times[71] of forced labor in Thai fishing in 2014 and 2015 focused attention on the industry.
New regulations dictate that fishermen have to be in possession of their own identification documents, receive and sign a written contract, be paid monthly, annual health checks for crew, transportation for crew from foreign ports to Thailand, social security schemes, and certified good working and living conditions.
[81][failed verification] Ratification of the convention was contested by 22 fisher associations who threatened to strike if their grievances were not addressed.
Thai and international unions, civil society organizations, and major U.K. seafood buyers including Lyons Seafood, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, and Waitrose urged the Thai Prime Minister in September 2019 to reject efforts by the Fisheries Association to roll back basic labor protections for workers in the fishing industry.