Fishing policy and administration

More than 8,000 trawlers in 22 provinces are likely to lose their commercial fishing licences after checks revealed the registration numbers did not match the vessels, and many had not renewed their permits for years. The discrepancies were uncovered when the government began regulating all fishing boats to comply ...

Thai Union Group, the world’s largest tuna canner, has stopped receiving supplies from about 1,200 fishing boats in Thailand over the past one to two years as part of its strictly-enforced code for responsible sourcing and conduct. As part of its global rebranding launched on 18 September, the ...

Photos from Indonesia on 21 October show the Indonesian navy blowing up fishing boats it seized from Thailand and Vietnam. Keep reading ...

The hiring of Thai helmsmen on Myanmar fishing boats has been criticised by the local fishing industry.  Two Myanmar companies last year hired Thai captains on the grounds that they were familiar with the use of sonar to find fish. Faced with opposition by local fishermen, the ...

Two Vietnamese fishing vessels, equipped with destructive fishing gear, were seized and 11 crewmen arrested for illegally fishing in Thai waters off Narathiwat on 10 October. Keep reading ...

The strapping 23-year-old Rohingya Muslim was matter of fact as he described being forced onto a boat in Myanmar for a tortuous two-month-long journey, beaten and kicked by traffickers as he watched scores die of starvation and thirst along the way. He said he was abandoned in ...

Almost a year after placing a ban on renewals of licenses for large, foreign-built fishing vessels, the Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry is devising a post-moratorium national plan of action that will focus on strengthening Indonesia’s maritime policies in the context of regional integration.  Keep ...

More than 200 fishing trawlers from Trat province are now docking and unloading their catches in Cambodia’s adjoining Koh Kong province to evade the strict regulations being enforced against unregistered vessels and fishing equipment in Thailand. Keep reading ...

Thai maritime police said they opened fire on a Vietnamese fishing boat while trying to intercept another vessel in waters near Malaysia last week, a clash Vietnamese state media said killed a fisherman and wounded two others. Officials from the two countries were quoted on 16 ...

After years of complaints, the Myanmar government says it is finally ready to act against dodgy employment agencies that cheat seafarers. The trigger for moves to clean up the sector has been the signing of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006, which parliament approved on 28 August. Keep ...