No commercial fishing in Gulf of Thailand from Feb 15 until mid-June
No commercial fishing will be allowed in the Gulf of Thailand until mid-June this year in a bid to rebuild marine resources, Chalermchai Suwanrak, deputy director-general of the Fisheries Department, said on Friday.
The closure will be conducted in two phases: Waters off the coasts of Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon and Surat Thani will be blocked for 90 days from February 15 to May 15, and then from the foot of Khao Ta Mong Lai Mountain to Hua Hin for 30 days from May 16 to June 14.
The first phase covers an area of 27,000 square kilometers, while the second phase spans across 5,300sqkm.
“The closure is being done in two phases because marine animals will move to lay their eggs and raise the young in the inner portion of the Gulf in mid-May. Therefore, fishing from Khao Ta Mong Lai to Hua Hin will be closed for a month to let these animals grow,” Chalermchai said.
The Fisheries Department has been conducting annual closure of the Gulf of Thailand to commercial fishing since 1953, during which villagers are allowed to catch fish, provided their boats are less than 10 gross tonnage in size and engines less than 280 horsepower.
“During the closure, the department will also deliver young aquatic animals to village headmen in Prachuap Khiri Khan to be released in the sea to increase resource in the Gulf,” Chalermchai added. “This year we aim to release 700,000 giant prawns, 100,000 black tiger prawns, 100,000 banana shrimps and 20,000 white sea bass.”