Thai Premier Cracked Down on Fishing Industry. Now Thousands Could Protest

(Bloomberg) -- Follow Bloomberg on LINE messenger for all the business news and analysis you need.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha has touted his crackdown on fishing industry abuses as a success, but disgruntled fishermen are now mulling mass protests against laws they describe as too harsh.

Prayuth tightened up rules to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing as well as forced labor, spurring the European Commission to lift the threat of a ban on Thai seafood. Trade bodies say the laws are pushing up costs in a $6 billion export industry that's already grappling with a surging currency.

“We unnecessarily have one of the world’s strictest fishing regulations and harshest penalties that are unfair to Thai fishermen,” said Mongkol Sukcharoenkana, chairman of the National Fisheries Association of Thailand. “More than 100,000 people could protest unless the rules are eased. It’s a time bomb that’s ready to explode.”

A gathering of over 2,000 fishermen and others from the industry is due Friday at a seafood market near Bangkok to air concerns. Thailand is one of the world’s largest fishery exporters, making the sector a major employer. Bangkok-based Thai Union Group Pcl, for instance, sells canned tuna under the popular “Chicken of the Sea” brand in the U.S.

Prayuth began tackling illegal fishing industry practices in 2015 after a string of complaints. He had seized power a year earlier in a coup and had absolute executive power. Earlier this month, lawmakers picked him to return as premier following March’s disputed general election.

The former army chief leads a pro-military coalition with a razor-thin majority in the elected lower chamber, and faces a sizable opposition bloc fiercely opposed to what it sees as continued army control.

That makes even the hint of demonstrations a sensitive issue amid heightened political risk, in a country with a history of disruptive street protests.

Opposition leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit has said the rules imposed by the junta must be revised to avert a “collapse” of the fishing industry. He’s visited fishing communities and promised that his Future Forward Party will raise the issue in parliament.

The outgoing military administration -- which remains in power as a new Cabinet has yet to be sworn in -- aims to address the sector’s concerns before the end of next month, according to Agriculture Minister Grisada Boonrach.

“Anything that can be adjusted now will be done right away, but amending the law will require parliament’s approval,” he said in a briefing last week.

Mongkol from the fisheries association said officials are taking too long to address trawlermen’s worries.

“They keep telling us to wait,” he said. “We’ve been waiting for years and nothing has changed.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Siraphob Thanthong-Knight in Bangkok at rthanthongkn@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sunil Jagtiani at sjagtiani@bloomberg.net, Margo Towie

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.