A fleet of commercial anchovy fishing boats blocked the Pak Bara waterway in Satun province last week to pressure the government to change the rules and grant them permission to fish in the coastal waters.
The government must not give in to their demands.
The protest followed the seizure of anchovy fishing boats for trespassing in a restricted area. Their demand: amend the law to make it legal for them to operate near the shores.
The commercial boats finally agreed to disperse on Thursday after they were threatened with detention. In the end, they were given assurances that discussions would be with officials to find a solution.
For the destructive fishing boats that often defy bans, the outcome is already a big win.
The problem is that these commercial anchovy fishing boats do not only catch anchovies -- they fish at night using light to attract various types of marine life and swoop them all up in their gigantic fine-mesh nets for profit.
Economically valuable mackerel, grouper, and snapper hatchlings do not have the chance the grow and are sold as undesired stock.
Such a destructive fishing method is illegal, and so is fishing in the coastal waters.
The prohibition was enacted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives to protect marine ecology in an ocean that serves as a source of income for thousands of traditional fishermen along the coasts.
The Satun coasts attract commercial fleets because the waters are rich in marine life. They are close to the Petra and Tarutao national marine parks, forming a channel leading to the inner Satun Sea.
This channel is a fish migration route that makes Satun Bay plentiful all year round.
The government designated the bay as the "womb" of the Satun Sea, allowing only the use of traditional fishing gear to protect the area, and the powerful owners of those commercial fishing boats want to change that.
According to Vichoksak Ronnarongpairee, chair of the Raktalaethai Association, an advocacy group for sustainable fishing, the anchovy fishing fleets began to invade the Satun Sea about three years ago, setting up nets and lights along the fish migration path.
Allowing them to go deeper into the coastal waters would quickly ruin the Satun Sea, and they won't stop there.
Decades-long destructive fishing, mainly from trawlers using the light fishing method, has depleted Thai seas. Illegal fishing -- often with slave labour -- led to a boycott of Thai seafood products in the West. The no-fishing rule along the coasts is just one measure aimed at restoring marine life and building trust in international markets.
It is clear that the commercial fishing sector is taking advantage of the current political transition to change fishing regulations in their favour. After the May 14 election, representatives of the commercial sector renewed their aggressive lobbying with the hope that the new government would be softer on conservation.
The new administration must not participate in this shady scheme. Instead, it must strictly enforce regulations, stop the use of lights and fine-mesh nets, and punish violators. It must also work with local communities and traditional fishermen to promote sustainable fishing.
Environmentally destructive fishing must stop. If the authorities amend the law to allow access to coastal waters, it will make them accomplices in the crime.
