Several thousand Thai fishermen protested outside the agriculture ministry on Tuesday over strict regulations aimed at combating illegal and unregulated fishing which they say are driving them out of business.

Thailand, one of the world’s largest seafood exporters, began cracking down on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing four years ago after the European Union threatened to ban its seafood exports.

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The EU lifted its threat in January this year, citing a “major upgrade” in Thai governance, but the reforms enacted by Bangkok in 2015 have hurt the country’s fishing sector.

The protesters, drawn from 22 provinces around the country, turned the area in front of the ministry into a camp site with makeshift shelters under colorful umbrellas and took turns to air their grievances over megaphones.

“We’ve lost everything in the past five years. If we don’t get any answers today, we won’t leave,” said one fisherman from the southern province of Rayong.

Mongkol Sukcharoenkana, president of the National Fisheries Association of Thailand (NFAT), said the reforms and costly fines had caused many fishermen to lose their jobs.

“If the government won’t fix the problems for us, we’ll just oust them,” Mongkol told Reuters.

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Earlier this month, fishing associations drew up a list of demands that included a relaxation of the restrictions and the allocation of special funds to help the industry.

Alongkorn Ponlaboot, an adviser to the agriculture minister, told the gathering on Tuesday that a loan of 10.3 billion baht ($341 million) for the fishermen and a scheme worth 7.1 billion baht ($235 million) to buy out 2,700 ships were awaiting cabinet approval.

But he said amending the law was complicated because it could affect Thailand’s commitment to combat IUU fishing, and that consultations were ongoing.

Source: Reuters

Vanguard News