Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s Department of Fisheries is preparing to implement resource management measures for aquatic animals with eggs, spawning, and larval stages in 2026 in the central Gulf of Thailand, covering parts of Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, and Surat Thani provinces.
These measures aim to restore economic aquatic resources, create marine ecosystem balance, and support sustainable fishing practices.
Thitiporn Laoprasert, Director-General of the Department of Fisheries, revealed that "The central Gulf of Thailand" is a critical area where the Department of Fisheries has long implemented resource management measures for aquatic animals with eggs, spawning, and larval stages, known as the gulf closure measures.
This area serves as a habitat and breeding ground for various economically valuable aquatic species. The main goal is to conserve and manage aquatic resources sustainably, alongside continuous research and data collection to assess the suitability of the measures, including the scope, timing, and permissible fishing gear, ensuring alignment with current resource conditions and fishing contexts.
In 2025, the department updated regulations regarding the length of gillnet mesh and fishing methods for the first period of the measures, as well as the use of encircling nets, scoop nets, or squid lift nets with electric generators (power units), clarifying fishing details. The Department of Fisheries released an announcement on defining areas and timing of spawning seasons for aquatic animals in parts of Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, and Surat Thani provinces in January 2025.
Thitiporn emphasised that for sustainable development, the department hopes that this enhanced management measure will be an important mechanism to promote the restoration of marine ecosystems to a rich state, ensuring food security and improving the quality of life for fishing communities, helping them to be stronger and more sustainable in the long term./.
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