Bangkok Post July 18 1999
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The head of the committee studying the impact of night-time anchovy fishing has promised a realistic solution to the row, but admits the outcome will upset some people. Local fishermen claim fishing by commercial trawlers using powerful lights and fine-mesh nets is drastically depleting fish stocks. "I'll try to make it as clear and realistic as possible based on every one's views and scientific data," Sura pol Sudara, the dean of the Marine Biology Faculty, at Chulalongkorn Uni versity, told a seminar on sustainable anchovy fishing yesterday. He urged academics and scientists to be more outspoken about their views, which he said must be based on scien tific study. Kangwan Chantrachoti of the Fisheries Faculty at Kasetsart Univer sity said the dispute had worsened because Thais are narrow-minded and refuse to listen to opinions which differ,from their own. "When Thais say they don't believe something, they can't give a reason. Perhaps our educational system doesn't train children to analyse but memorise, so they rely on their feelings more than anything else," said Mr Kangwan. Inshore fishermen had been at odds with commercial trawlers for decades over the use of environmentally- destructive fishing gear to get the big gest catch possible. Nocturnal trawling using lights to attract the catch topped the coastal fishermen's agenda as they considered it to be the major killer of fish stocks. Studies revealed over 15% of every anchovy catch contained young fish that would be worth more if they were left to grow up. Mr Kangwan urged all parties to opt for a compromise by setting up a law to control both groups. "Since Thais see marine resources as common property and we have no clear fishing policy, it's hardly possible to manage the resource based on the sea's capacity only," he said. Rerngchai Tansakul, of Songkhanak harind University, warned of the need to take into account the community's social and cultural aspects. Speakers noted night trawling with lights was banned in
countries which advocate sustainable fishing.
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