BANGKOK, 1st August 2019 (NNT) – After Thailand was removed from the watch group for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), Manee Ngoen 5 is the first fishing vessel to be allowed to operate outside Thai waters. For three months, in the Indian Ocean, the Department of Fisheries has been monitoring its maritime and fishing behavior, using the electronic system, until it returned to port.
The “Manee Ngoen 5 Fishing Vessel” began fishing outside Thai waters on May 9, 2019, under the framework of the South Indian Ocean Fisheries Cooperation, of which Thailand is a member. It is reported that the fishing vessel is returned to port today. Mr. Arunchai Phutthacharoen, Deputy Director of the Department of Fisheries, along with officials from relevant agencies, inspected the vessel in accordance with the operation standards and will check the data from the electronic monitoring system within 24 hours before allowing its catch to be landed, in accordance with the IUU regulations.
“Manee Ngoen 5 Fishing Vessel” is 312.73 tons gross weight using otter board trawl and fishing rods. It was fishing in foreign waters for 75 days. It caught 253 tons of aquatic animals. The fishing vessel is equipped with modern monitoring systems, such as vessel positioning systems, an electronic monitoring system, CCTV that records the fishing vessel’s navigation from departure to arrival back in port and a sensor system on the fishing winch and lid of the catch storage tank. The system automatically notifies the Department of Fisheries of suspicious behavior. The Department of Fisheries also placed an observer on board to collect information and observe the fishing behavior. The authorities will later carefully analyze footage from CCTV system.
