Capacity building on MCS for DoF officials under the Thailand-Australia Cooperation

Capacity building on MCS for DoF officials under the Thailand-Australia Cooperation 

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The Department of Fisheries (DoF) is committed to enhancing its proficiency in preventing and addressing Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing across all aspects, spanning from the establishment of fishery resource management to ensuring sustainable utilization of aquatic resources within Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) limits, to tracing back the domestic capture for consumption and processing for export. This comprehensive approach aims to ensure that aquatic resources do not originate from IUU fishing activities. Consequently, the DoF conducts monitoring and surveillance of both domestic fishing activities and foreign fishing vessels requesting entry into Thai ports to ensure compliance with IUU fishing regulations. The operational procedures of its Fisheries Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance (MCS) officials are aligned with international standards, and their performance is consistently evaluated. Additionally, the DoF recognizes the importance of leveraging technology and innovation to enhance the effectiveness of its performance.

                As a result, the DoF proposed to the Australian Government to provide assistance through the Combating IUU Fishing and Promoting Sustainable Fisheries in Southeast Asia Program (SEA IUU Fishing Program), aimed at enhancing the capacity of the DoF officials in implementing MCS. In response to this proposal, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) deployed experts to Thailand to conduct a Workshop on the Innovation of Fisheries Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance (MCS) Analytics, and Utilization for Fisheries Analyst for the DoF officials from 7 to 11 November 2022. During the workshop, participants had the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences regarding the monitoring and inspection of fishing vessels. They also explored the application of technology and innovation as tools for vessel monitoring and data analysis, including assessing fishing vessel behavior, implementing Port State measures, and conducting vessel inspections.

                In 2024, the DoF still received support from the aforementioned program to host the 2nd Workshop on the Innovation of Fisheries Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance (MCS) Analytics, and Utilization for Fisheries Analyst. The workshop took place from 19 to 23 February 2024, at the SEAFDEC/Training Department in Samut Prakarn Province. During the workshop, DoF officials were provided with a venue to learn and exchange experiences with experts from Australia on Electronic Monitoring (EM). The workshop also covered topics such as the requirements set forth by the South Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA) and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) measures of SIOFA and IOTC, analysis and utilization of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to facilitate legal documentation, the application of EM and its functions onboard fishing vessels for data storage, risk assessment, data analysis based on VMS and Automatic Identification System (AIS). Additionally, the workshop included international standards for observers onboard, including relevant activities such as the identification of aquatic species and capturing quantity using EM. Furthermore, it addressed practices when observers face force majeure events while working on board fishing vessels.

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