Royal Ordinance on Fisheries B.E.2558 (2015)

International organisation’ means a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO) established for the purposes of fisheries conservation and management.

Any person wishing to use a Thai vessel for the purposes of fishing outside Thai waters shall submit an application for a license to fish outside Thai waters to the Director-General or a person designated by the Director-General. The issuance of a license pursuant to paragraph one shall be executed specifically for a particular fishing vessel. The number and types of fishing gears authorized for the purposes of fishing operation shall also be specified on the license. If an applicant wishes to engage in a fishing operation in an area under the jurisdiction of coastal state, the DirectorGeneral or a person designated by the Director-General may accord authorization therefor only when the applicant is able to present proof of a right to engage in fishing operations in the waters of any such coastal state, and when there is clear evidence that the applicant for the license is in a position to comply with the laws, rules and measures of the coastal state or the international organisation concerned.”

In the case where the holder of a license for fishing outside Thai waters engages in a fishing operation in an area under the jurisdiction of a coastal state or in an 21 area under the control and responsibility of an international organisation, apart from having to comply with this Royal Ordinance, the licensee shall have to comply with the laws, rules and standards of conservation and fisheries management of any such coastal state or international organisation.

No person shall use electrical currents for fishing purposes or explosives in a fishing ground. Exemptions to the prohibition on the use of explosives in fishing grounds may be granted for the benefit of public service for which permission in writing must have been obtained from the Director-General, in which case preventive undertakings must have been implemented to preempt undue damage to the aquatic animals concerned.

The provision under paragraph one shall not apply to the use of explosives for

the benefit of military public service.

No person shall have in possession aquatic animals or aquatic animal products for commercial purposes knowing that these aquatic animals or aquatic animal products are acquired through wrongdoings pursuant to section 58, section 60, or acquired by a serious infringement under section 114, or from a fishing vessel used in IUU fishing as per the list of fishing vessels prohibited from entering the Kingdom pursuant to section 94, or as publicly listed under section 116.

No person shall catch aquatic mammals, rare aquatic animals or aquatic animals near extinction as prescribed by the Minister or take any such aquatic animal on board a fishing vessel, except where it is necessary to do so in order to save the life thereof.

Any person wishing to use a commercial fishing vessel of a size prescribed by the Minister to engage in a fishing operation must undertake the following actions:(2) prepare a fishing logbook, which shall at least comprise data on the types and quantities of aquatic animals caught, points at which the vessels have been anchored, aquatic animal transshipment, sale or discard of the aquatic animals, all of which shall have to be certified as true and accurate by the master of the vessel; the data contained therein shall be reported to the Department of Fisheries at the time intervals and in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the Director-General;

A holder of a license to engage in fishing outside Thai waters must have an observer stationed on board the fishing vessel in accordance with the rules prescribed by the coastal state or the international organisation having jurisdiction over the intended area of fishing operation, or as prescribed by the Director-General. An observer shall not be a person already assigned to do any other duty on board a fishing vessel, and shall have other qualifications as prescribed by the Director-General. The rules and procedures of training, as well as the registration of observers shall be as prescribed by the Director-General.

An observer shall perform the following duties: (1) observe the catching of aquatic animals, the selecting and processing thereof, as well as other activities concerned therewith, and record data found in the observations; (2) compile and record biological information and collect specimen of the aquatic animals caught and any other data useful for the purposes of traceability; (3) prepare a summary report of actions taken pursuant to (1) and (2), to be submitted to the competent official upon berthing of the fishing vessel at a fishing port or when the observer returns to the coast in accordance with the procedures and timeframe prescribed by the Director-General.

Any observer failing to perform their duties pursuant to section 51 or committing malfeasance in order to cause damage to any other person shall be subject to a term of imprisonment of between one month and two years or to a fine of between one hundred thousand baht and two millionbaht, or both.

Any person wishing to use a commercial fishing vessel of a size prescribed by the Minister to engage in a fishing operation must undertake the following actions: (2) prepare a fishing logbook, which shall at least comprise data on the types and quantities of aquatic animals caught, points at which the vessels have been anchored, aquatic animal transshipment, sale or discard of the aquatic animals, all of which shall have to be certified as true and accurate by the master of the vessel; the data contained therein shall be reported to the Department of Fisheries at the time intervals and in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the Director-General

The owner of a fishing port pursuant to section 84 or a fish market entrepreneur shall record data on every fishing vessel berthed at the port, or transshipment or landing of aquatic animals at the port. Such records shall be kept for inspection by the competent official in accordance with the particulars, procedures and timeframe prescribed by the DirectorGeneral

Subject to section 87, no fishing vessel engaged in commercial fishing shall transship or land aquatic animals at any fishing port other than a fishing port pursuant to section 84 or at a site that is a fish market, as designated by Notification of the Director General. The Notification of the Director-General under paragraph one may also specify the fishing vessel size that is allowed to transship or land aquatic animals at particular ports. The owner of a fishing port or a fish market enterprise pursuant to paragraph one shall prepare a marine catch purchasing document in accordance with the form and particulars prescribed by the Director-General. A copy thereof shall be submitted to the Department of Fisheries in accordance with the timeframe and procedures prescribed by the Director-General.

No transshipment of aquatic animals shall be made at sea with the exception of a transshipment onto a fishing vessel registered as a carrier for the transshipment of aquatic animals or a vessel for the storage of aquatic animals, in which case the owner or master of the fishing vessel must obtain permission from the a competent official by radio transmission or a similar means of communication as well as submit a transshipment declaration certified as true and accurate by the master of fishing vessel to the competent official after completion of transshipment. An application for permission and the submission of a transshipment declaration shall be in accordance with the rules, procedures and time period prescribed by the DirectorGeneral. The provisions of section 39 shall apply to the registration of a carrier vessel under paragraph one mutatis mutandis. For the purposes of preventing and combatting IUU fishing, the DirectorGeneral shall have the power to prohibit transshipments at sea for certain or all vessels in the specified areas and time periods.

Any person wishing to use a fishing vessel registered as a carrier for the transshipment of aquatic animals or as a vessel for the storage of aquatic animals to transship aquatic animals must take the following actions: (1) having installed a fishing vessel monitoring system and maintained the functionality thereof at all times in accordance with the rules and procedures prescribed by the Director-General; (2) prepare a marine catch transshipment document; the data contained therein shall be certified as true and accurate by the master of the carrier vessel and reported to the Department of Fisheries at the time and in accordance with procedures prescribed by the DirectorGeneral; (3) report every port-in and port-out operation to the Port In‐Port Out Control Centre in accordance with the rules and procedures prescribed by the Director‐General.

In addition to compliance with this Royal Ordinance, a fishing vessel registered as a carrier for the transshipment of aquatic animals or as a vessel for the storage of aquatic animals shall also comply with the laws, rules or regulations of a coastal state concerned when transshipping aquatic animals in a sea lying within the jurisdiction of any such coastal state. It shall also comply with the rules or regulations of the relevant international organisation when transshipping aquatic animals on the high seas.

For the purposes of traceability related to the lawfulness of aquatic animals or aquatic animal products obtained from fisheries activities, parties concerned shall collect and prepare evidence to be used for inspection in accordance with the following rules: (2) the owner or the master of a carrier for the transshipment of aquatic animals or the storage of aquatic animals shall prepare a marine catch transshipment document, and submit a report to the Department of Fisheries as prescribed undersection 88(2).

“Owner of a vessel” means a person having the ownership or the right to possession of a fishing vessel. “Master of a vessel” means a person having command or charge of a fishing vessel. “Seaman” means a crew member or any person who is assigned with a position on board a vessel, excluding the master thereof.

The owner of any fishing vessel making use of a seaman without a license or permit pursuant to section 83 shall be subject to a fine of between four hundred thousand baht and eight hundred thousand baht per seaman, and the Director-General shall order the revocation of the owner’s fishing license, and the Director-General of the Marine Department shall also revoke the seaman document of the master of the vessel pursuant to the law on navigation in Thai waters.

Section 166 of the Royal Ordinance on Fisheries B.E. 2558 shall be repealed and replaced by the followings: “Section 166: A supporter or beneficiary in an offense under this Royal Ordinance shall be subject to the same penalty as that of the principal thereof, unless such conduct was undertaken by a seaman and the court is of an opinion that it was done according to an instruction of the owner or master of the vessel. In that case, the court may exempt that person from punishment or impose a punishment at the level lower than that prescribed by the law for any amount.”

The notification of a list of fishing vessels pursuant to section 116 shall at least contain the following particulars: (1) the current name and previous name of the fishing vessel; (2) the flag of the fishing vessel and the flag designating the previous nationality of the fishing vessel; (3) the owner of the vessel, the previous owner of the vessel concerned, and the beneficiary of the said vessel.

“Thai fishing vessel” means a fishing vessel registered as a Thai vessel pursuant to the law on Thai vessels.

Requests for permission, filings for registration, grants of permission, acceptances of registration, issuances of licenses, renewals of licenses and the transfer of licenses pursuant to this Royal Ordinance shall be in accordance with the rules, procedures and conditions provided by Ministerial Regulation. Any such Ministerial Regulation may fix duties and fee rates not exceeding those stipulated in the schedule annexed to this Royal Ordinance. A Ministerial Regulation for the determination of duties or fees issued pursuant to paragraph one may impose different rates, taking into consideration the types, kinds, sizes or numbers of fishing vessels, or fishing gears, or the types, kinds, sizes, nature or forms of aquaculture enterprises or fishing operations.

A commercial fishing licensee must provide an occupational safety and hygiene system, as well as provide proper working conditions for seamen as prescribed by Ministerial Regulation.

A commercial fishing licensee must not engage in a fishing operation in coastal seas.

Any person wishing to engage in commercial fishing must obtain a commercial fishing license issued by the Director-General or a person designated by the DirectorGeneral. The issuance of a license pursuant to paragraph one shall be executed specifically for a particular fishing vessel. The number and type of fishing gears authorized for the purposes of fishing operation, areas in which fishing operations are to be undertaken, the maximum allowable catch of aquatic animals allowed for fishing operations or the period during which fishing operations are allowed shall also be specified on the license in alignment with the fishing capacity and the maximum sustainable yield of aquatic animals for the purposes of sustainable fisheries stipulated in the Fisheries Management Plan.

Any person requesting a license pursuant to section 32, section 35 and section 36 must not be under any of the following prohibitions: (1) being convicted by a final court judgement due to a commission of any offense under section 114, and a period of five years has not yet lapsed since the judgment day; (2) being aperson whose fishing license is being suspended; (3) being a person subject to an order of the Director-General issued pursuant to section 113(1) or (5) and a period of five years has not yet lapsed since the day of the order; (4) being a person subject to an order of the Director-General issued pursuant to section 113(2) and the prohibition period has not yet expired; (5) being a person whose fishing license has been revoked and a period of five years has not yet lapsed since the revocation to the day of the license application; (6) a foreign state or international organisation has given written notice that a suspension of such person’s fishing authorization has not yet expired or that fishing authorization has been revoked by the competent authority of such state or international organisation; (7) being a person whose fishing license has been revoked twice within a period of five years.

The Director-General shall have the power to issue the following orders against any person engaging in a fishing operation which constitutes a serious infringement:

(1) seizure of the aquatic animals and aquatic animal products obtained from any

such fishing operation or seizure of fishing gear;

(2) prohibition of any fishing activity until full compliance is achieved; (3) suspension of license for a period not exceeding ninety days each time; in this regard, an order may also be issued to prohibit the use of any such fishing vessel until the license suspension period expires;

(4) revocation of license and publicly listing the fishing vessel as a vessel used in

IUU fishing;

(5) detention of any such fishing vessel or demanding that a security be

deposited where such infringing fishing vessel is a non-Thai fishing vessel.

When seizing aquatic animals or aquatic animal products pursuant to (1), the Director-General may order the owner or master of the vessel to take care of and store the aquatic animals and aquatic animal products on boardthe vessel in the same conditions.

When issuing an order pursuant to paragraph one, the Director-General shall take into account the severity of the infringement, recidivism andthe prevention of recidivism.

The following acts shall be regarded as fishing operations

constituting severe infringements pursuant to section 113:

(1) use of a stateless vessel to engage in a fishing operation pursuant to section

10;

(2) fishing without a fishing license or a license for the use of a fishing gear

pursuant to section 31, section 32, section 35, section 36 or section 48;

(3) failure to comply with section 81; (4) preparing a fishing logbook or reporting a fishing operation based on a false document or destroying a document or evidence related to the commission of an offense;

(5) fishing in excess of the quantities or the condition prescribed in section 36, fishing in a prohibited area pursuant to section 56, or fishing during a prohibited period pursuant to section 70;

(6) modification of a fishing gear under section 42, or use of a prohibited fishing

gear pursuant to section 67, section 68, section 69or section 71(1);

(7) fishing in violation of rules prescribed by a coastal state or an international

organisation pursuant to section 49;

(8) catching aquatic animals or taking aquatic animals of a smaller size than that

prescribed onto a fishing vessel pursuant to section 57;

(9) catching aquatic animals or taking aquatic animals prescribed onto a fishing

vessel pursuant to section 66;

(10) transshipping aquatic animals and aquatic animal products in violation of

the rules under section 87, section 88or section 89;

(11) falsifying, concealing or changing a vessel’s mark or registration; (12) obstructing the performance of duties by a competent official or observer, or concealing, tempering with or disposing of evidence relating to an investigation conducted by a competent official;

(13) participating in, providing support to or securing essential basics to a fishing

vessel undertaking IUU fishing;

(14) committing more than three offenses other than those stated under (1) to (13) above within any one-year period, regardless of whether or not the offenses are identical.

Any licensee who disagrees with an order to suspend a license, cessation of permission or revocation of license pursuant to section 111, revocation of a registration pursuant to section 112, or an order given pursuant to section 113, may file an appeal to the following persons within thirty days as from the day he/she is notified of the order: (1) where a competent official is the person who issues any such order, an appeal

may be filed to the Director-General;

(2) where the Director-General is the person who issues any such order, an

appeal may be filed to the Minister.

The Director-General or the Minister shall determine the appeal under paragraph

one within sixty days as from the day the appeal is received.

An appeal against an order under paragraph one shall not constitute a stay of execution of the order with the exception of a case in which the Director-General or the Minister, as the case may be, issues an order for a temporary stay of execution thereof. A decision of the Director-General or Minister shall be final.

The Minister shall publish the names of fishing vessels used in IUU fishing, and may also order that the vessel registrar under the law on Thai vessels have the fishing registration of any such vessel revoked. When the Minister publishes such list of fishing vessels or issues a registration revocation order, no person shall use any such listed vessel for fishing for a period of time as prescribed by the Minister, which shall last no less than two years as from the date on which the publication was made. During any such period, the owner of a fishing port or a fish market enterprise shall not allow any such fishing vessel to land aquatic animals at his/her fishing port or fish market.

The notification of a list of fishing vessels pursuant to section 116

shall at least contain the following particulars:

(1) the current name and previous name of the fishing vessel; (2) the flag of the fishing vessel and the flag designating the previous nationality

of the fishing vessel;

(3) the owner of the vessel, the previous owner of the vessel concerned, and the

beneficiary of the said vessel;

(4) the vessel’s registration number or designated number issued by a relevant

international organisation and that issued by the Marine Department;

(5) aphoto thereof; (6) the date on which the vessel is included on the list of vessels; (7) the offense causing the listing of the vessel; (8) the period of time during which the registration of the vessel for fishing

purposes is revoked.

The Department of Fisheries shall notify the list of fishing vessels issued by the Minister pursuant to section 116 to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and international organisations.

The Minister may have the name of a vessel removed from the list

of vessels undertaking IUU fishing when: (1) the owner of the vessel has presented evidence to prove that the fishing

vessel has not beeninvolved in IUU fishing;

(2) the fishing vessel has capsized or has been destroyed; (3) a period of not less than two years has lapsed since the fishing vessel was included in the list and no further report has been received that the fishing vessel has been involved inIUU fishing;

(4) the owner of the vessel has presented evidence proving that corrections have been made such that the vessel is capable of engaging in lawful fishing or has completely removed all unlawful components;

(5) the owner of the vessel has satisfactorily presented evidence that he/she has not had a part or has not been involved in IUU fishing in whatsoever way, and has put in place appropriate preventive measures.

Where the license expires or where the licensee is subject to the revocation of his/her license or permit pursuant to 111 or section 113, the licensee shall dismantle or destroy the fishing tool, structure or anything belonging to him/her in the fishing ground within thirty days as from the date on which the license expires or the date he/she is notified of the order revoking the license or permit, as the case may be. The provisions under paragraph two of section 103 shall be applied mutatis mutandis.

If the owner of a fishing port, a fish market entrepreneur or the owner of a vessel registered as a carrier for the transshipment of aquatic animals or the storage of aquatic animals violates or fails to comply with this Royal Ordinance, or Ministerial Regulation, Notifications or Directives issued pursuant to this Royal Ordinance, the Director-General shall have the power to order that any such registration be revoked.

The Director-General shall have the power to issue the following orders against any person engaging in a fishing operation which constitutes a serious infringement: (1) seizure of the aquatic animals and aquatic animal products obtained from any such fishing operation or seizure of fishing gear; (2) prohibition of any fishing activity until full compliance is achieved; (3) suspension of license for a period not exceeding ninety days each time; in this regard, an order may also be issued to prohibit the use of any such fishing vessel until the license suspension period expires; (4) revocation of license and publicly listing the fishing vessel as a vessel used in IUU fishing; (5) detention of any such fishing vessel or demanding that a security be deposited where such infringing fishing vessel is a non-Thai fishing vessel.