Briefing on Thailand’s Fisheries Legislation Developments

Based on EJF’s analysis, there are at least 17 concerning Articles across the eight drafts that would erode many of the transparency, sustainability and labour protection achievements secured over the last eight years. EJF provides an in-depth assessment of the seven most pressing issues below. A full comparison of the 17 articles is provided on pages 16-20. The analysis of all eight drafts indicates that the draft from the Move Forward Party is the most “extreme” in terms of its revisions. Out of 17 problematic or concerning Articles as identified by EJF, artisanal fishing groups and labour organisations, Move Forward’s draft included 82% of these, notably: reauthorising at-sea crew transfers, relaxing the regulation on the catching of charismatic or protected marine animals, and no longer requiring seaman books for migrant fishers. The draft with the fewest problematic Articles was proposed by the Democrat Party with only two problematic areas included; 6 re-authorising at-sea trans-shipment and no longer requiring real-time locations for the vessel monitoring system.