Thursday, 20 February 2025, at 2:30 PM

At: "Yisok" Meeting Room, 2nd Floor, Chulabhorn Building, Department of Fisheries

Mr. Buncha Sukkaew, Director-General of the Department of Fisheries, assigned the working group of the Thai Sustainable Fisheries Roundtable (TSFR) — a project focused on developing sustainable production systems for Thailand's fishery products — to provide an update on the Gulf of Thailand Trawl Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) in alignment with international standards.

The session included key stakeholders such as:

Mr. Pornsil, President of the Thai Feed Mill Association

Mr. Anucha, President of the Thai Frozen Foods Association

Mr. Chinchai, President of the Samut Songkhram Pair Trawler Association

And representatives from 8 other relevant associations

Presentation of the Gulf of Thailand Trawl Fishery Action Plan (FAP)

Updates on four research projects funded by the Agricultural Research Development Agency (ARDA), covering:

Resource assessment for trawl fisheries

Impacts of trawl fishing

Mapping of trawl fishing grounds

Ecosystem impacts from trawling operations

Results from the MarinTrust Assessment (received since 2022), which have enabled fishmeal factories to demonstrate responsible and sustainable sourcing practices to their clients during supply chain audits

Annual MarinTrust evaluations require ongoing support. Therefore, TSFR requested assistance from the Department of Fisheries in the form of data sharing and representative participation in relevant activities, including:

 Stock assessments based on MSY (Maximum Sustainable Yield) and species-specific indicators

 Evaluation of the Fishery Management Plan (FMP)

 Participation in the National Fisheries Committee

 Collection of catch data on trash fish

 Reporting of ETP (Endangered, Threatened, and Protected species) sightings by fishers, and promotion of standardized reporting forms

 The Department of Fisheries expressed full support for all the above initiatives and agreed to appoint official representatives to participate in future coordination meetings and project implementation.