September 19, 2006

 

Thailand worries about sustaining its seafood industry
 

 

An FAO report that half the global fish supply now comes from fish farms, is cause for concern in Thailand, the country's largest newspaper reported.

 

Thailand would have to turn its fishing industry around if it expects to continue a viable seafood industry, the Bangkok post said.

 

For Thai fishermen and most consumers the writing has long been on the wall. The once abundant waters of the Gulf of Thailand were fished out a generation ago, the newspaper noted.

 

Thai fishing fleets are now seldom in Thai waters but venture abroad, negotiating with foreign governments to fish their waters. Aquatic exports now consist largely of shrimp and fish from Thai farms, or tuna brought from waters far from Thailand.

 

Thailand is not the only country which became a major exporter of farmed fish. The industry has flourished for the past 15 years due largely to Western demand.

 

Seafood industry leaders know that it is vital for farmed seafood to continue to grow to make up for the lack of wild caught fish.

 

So far, Thai exports of canned seafood have nearly doubled in 10 years, from US$1.3 billion to more than US$2 billion.

 

Shrimp exports, however, have been less successful, due to fierce competition from neighbouring countries like Vietnam. Thailand exported more than US$1 billion worth of shrimp in 2000, but tariffs and other factors were cutting into the markets.

 

Several problems still stand in the way of the development of Thailand's aquaculture, the newspaper noted.

 

One factor is the disruption to the environment by shrimp farms. Tiger shrimp farms are blamed for most of the destruction to mangrove forests along the southern coast.  Areas occupied by fish farms and the water it churns out makes it impossible to grow crops near these areas, the paper adds. 

 

Shrimp farmers also face high setup costs, and need to be supplied with fishmeal and fishoil, both of which are expensive ingredients.

 

Thailand already is considered a world centre of breeding carnivorous species such as grouper, but with declining wildcatch, the country is hoping consumers are open to trying vegetarian species such as carp, catfish and tilapia among them, all of which are currently abundant in Thailand.

 

Thailand faces sustainability issues as species have been endangered or dangerously depleted. The industry is urged to tackle the problem so that Thailand could be a responsible and thriving source of seafood for the world.