The Role of the European Union in the Management of Commercial Fisheries in Thailand, The Case Study of Fisheries in Ranong Province

Abstract

The aims of this research are 1) to study the roles of the European Union in the management of commercial fisheries in Thailand, and 2) to study and apply the measures learned from the European Union’s management of commercial fisheries in Ranong Province. The research is a qualitative research. Research instruments used in this study are study document, interview and participatory and non-participatory observation. The key informants in this study are 17 persons.

The research results demonstrate that: the European Union plays some roles in the management of commercial fisheries in Thailand through international trade measures. Thailand has been flagged as a country at risk of not cooperating in preventing illegal fishing, due to its lack of reports and proper regulations. If the government does not quickly take action, the European Union will ban imported fishery products from Thailand. As a result, the Thai government has to make major changes to the system of domestic fisheries in order to comply with the scorecard requirements on European standards. The government has applied the European Union’s measures related to commercial fisheries in Ranong Province in the form of policies and laws in fisheries. This has affected 1) those who have committed illegal fishing who now have to cease their careers, 2) those who have to face with increased fishing costs, 3) those who now must comply with more state-imposed measures and laws on fisheries, and 4) many more of those who want to manage fisheries in conjunction with the government in order to participate in designing the rule of law related to fisheries based on actual conditions, so as to protect their interests.