Govt holds responsible fishing workshop in Phuket

The workshop was to create understanding among pier owners, fishing associations and officials about checking marine animals, said the department's fisheries specialist Praulai Nootmorn. 
The event also wanted to boost screening systems to ensure that Thai fishery catches were legal and met international standards. 
Pol Lt-General Jaruwat Waisaya, chief of the RTP Office of Legal Affairs and Litigation, said the Emergency Decree on Fisheries required piers to register with the Fisheries Department and record information on all fishing trawlers that docked. 

They must also issue the Marine Catch Purchasing Document (MCPD), submitted to the department via its electronic Thai-Flagged Catch Certification system. 
Jaruwat said the complete and accurate practice of information gathering by the piers would be helpful for the authorities when preventing illegal fishing. It would also impose proper control to keep natural resources in balance, allowing stocks to reproduce and rehabilitate. 
Jaruwat said the MCPD at the piers was key to the ability of the authorities to check and trace the origins of catches. It would ensure transparency and confidence that the catches did not come from the illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, he added.
An earlier workshop was held for 206 members of the fishing community in Trat, Chanthaburi, Rayong, Chon Buri, Chachoengsao and Samut Prakan in Chon Buri province last week. Other workshops would be held in Prachuap Khiri Khan and Songkhla.
There are more than 800 piers registered with the Fisheries Department with about 200 on the Andaman coast. 
There are 10,533 commercial fishing boats and 25,000 traditional fishing boats registered with the Thai authorities, according to the authorities.