Defence Ministry spokesman Lt-General Kongcheep Tantrawanich on Monday disclosed conclusions from a meeting of the fifth administration reform steering committee, headed by Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, approving measures to help fishermen who have been affected by efforts to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Kongcheep said Prawit had ordered relief measures to be implemented as possible as a “New Year’s present” for fishermen, with the measures to begin on December 27. He said the policy would decrease the number of fishing vessels, which combined with licence restrictions would help to protect marine natural resources. The development fund for affected fishermen would come from fishing vessel registration fees over these past two years, or Bt130 million, and Bt650 million in low-interest loans would be provided by the Government Savings Bank. He added the government was also addressing international issues related to aviation and copyright protections.

Source: The Nation Bangkok December 18, 2017 07:04 UTC