INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AT QUANG NINH PROVINCE
Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Thua Loc
School of Trade and International Economics.
Email:
M.Econ. Dang Thanh Binh
Abstract
Industrial sectors have been playing a key role in socio-economic development and
making an important contribution to the increase of GDP and state budget revenues of the
Quang Ninh province, however, they have caused the most serious environmental
pollution. Therefore, the balance of industrial development and environmental protection
is more and more necessary. Through doing a research on the reality of industrial
development and environmental protection of the Quang Binh province in 2010-2017, this
article clarifies achievements and limitations as well as their root causes in order to find
solutions for these issues and for the provincial industrial manufactures; and to make
several proposals for the Government, Ministries and Branches in the locality.
Keywords: industrial development at Quang Ninh province; environmental
protection in Quang Ninh; Reality and Solutions.
1. Reality of industrial development at Quang Ninh province
The study of industrial development at the Quang Ninh province from 2010 to 2017
shows the following realities:
Frist, due to the different miniral resources, Quang Ninh‘s industrial sectors are
diverse and have had a stable growth. GRDP (Gross Regional Domestic Product) by
industry of Quang Ninh in 2016 was 2.27 times higher than that in 2010, making a
reasonable economic structure for the province. In its 2017 economic structure, agriculture
accounted for 6.7% while industry, construction accounted for 52.1% and services
accounted for 41.2%.

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Figure 1.1: GRDP (Gross Regional Domestic Product) by industry of Quang
Ninh 2010-2017 at current prices
Unit: VND Billion
140,000

122,576
110,626

120,000

99,294

100,000
80,000
60,000

59,209
50,097

63,862

53,740

53,042

57,771

48,365

40,000


26,090

24,017

20,000
0
GRDP

Industry and Construction
2010

2015

2016

Of which Industry

2017*

Source: Quang Ninh Statistical Office 2017: Quang Ninh Statistical Yearbook
2016, page 43, 2017 *: estimated figures.
Second, the provincial industry has an attempt to be independent from coal mining
and has various sectors. Key products of the province in 2016 included coal (38,671
million tons; cement (3.65 million tons); vegetable oil (253,000 tons); electricity (25,473
million kilowatt-hours); running water (45,352 million m3); textile fibres (201,975 tons);
frozen aquatic products (1,815 tons); flour (318,000 tons); fish sauce (1,065 million litres);
beer (26,203 million litres); mineral water (83.7 million litres). These are goods used for
production and essential consumption of people.
Third, in the structure of investment capital for industrial production development

of the province, state capital decreased from 59.6% in 2010 to 39.6% in 2016 while nonstate capital slightly increased from 35.2% to 40.8% and foreign direct capital increased
from 5.2% to 19.6% (1, 73)
Fourth, there are just a small number of FDI projects in Quang Ninh. The total
amount of FDI capital into the province, which has just slightly increased since 2010, is
not much. From 1988 to 2016, there were 124 projects, with a total committed capital of
6,215.9 million USD and a total disbursed capital of 4,403.3 million USD. The FDI capital
into the province was distributed to such sectors as fertilizer production, manufacturing
industry, lodging service, construction and other sectors. (1, 84-85)
Fifth, there are just a small number of enterprises operating in the province (2,768
enterprises in 2010 and 4,541 enterprises in 2015). In terms of structure, state-owned
enterprises increased slightly in absolute terms, from 90 to 94, but decreased in relative
terms, from 3.3% to 2.1% in 2015. The non-state enterprises went up from 2,635 to 4,392

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in absolute terms; and increased from 95.2% to 96.7% in relative terms. In absolute terms,
foreign enterprises increased from 43 to 55 but decreased in relative terms from 1.6% to
1.2% (1, 102-107). According to the Department of Planning and Investment, up to
November 2017, the total number of registered enterprises and their dependent units in the
province was 14,900 with a total registered capital of 147, 990 billion VND (9.93 billion
VND per enterprise on average).
Sixth, the number of waste collection enterprises in the province is very low. In
2015, there was only one drainage and wastewater solution enterprise with fewer than 100
employees. Besides, there were just 22 waste collecting, processing and recycling
enterprises, out of which 17 enterprises had fewer than 100 employees. The fixed asset
value per drainage and wastewater solution enterprise in 2015 was 40 million VND while
the total fixed asset value of all the waste and pollution management enterprises was 467
million VND. This figure was so inconsiderable that the service quality and the operational
efficiency of these enterprises were not good enough. (1, 111)

Seventh, according to the approved planning, the Quang Ninh industrial establishment
system consists of 11 industrial zones, 19 industrial clusters, one coastal economic zone
(Van Don), and three border-gate economic zones (Mong Cai, Hoanh MO - Dong Van and
Bac Phong Sinh). The provincial enterprises are distributed uneven, located mainly in such
areas as Ha Long city, Cam Pha city, Mong Cai city and Dong Trieu town. The number of
enterprises in the northeastern districts of the province such as Ba Che, Dam Ha, Tien Yen
is small. (1,107).
2. Reality of environmental protection in Quang Ninh
2.1. Achievements
First, due to the early awareness of the important role of environmental protection
in economic development, the activities of environmental management and protection in
the province have been well organized.
Quang Ninh is the province having the largest coal resource in Vietnam with a total
reserve of 8.8 billion tonnes. The coal mining industry provides fuel for electricity
generation and energy for other industries; enabling to develop the provincial economy, to
create jobs for the locals and to make key state budget revenues for the province. In 2017,
coal production reached 36.33 million tons, accounting for 46.9% of the domestic budget
revenue. However, this industry caused the most serious environmental pollution. Being
aware of the impact of environmental protection on stable economic development, at the
beginning of 2010, the provincial standing committee issued Directive No. 30-CT/TU
dated September 7, 2010 on enhancing the leadership and guiding the environmental
management and protection in the province. The Quang Ninh Provincial People‘s
Committee issued Resolution No. 32/2010/NQ-HĐND dated December 10, 2010 on
environmental management and protection in the province, stating ―The Provincial
People‘s Committee has issued many documents for guiding and implementing a lot of
environmental protection measures, thus the awareness of the environmental protection of

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all levels, branches, localities, people and enterprises has been raised‖. Therefore, the
activities of environmental management and protection in the province have changed
dramatically. (3, article 1).
Second, the legal document system has been developed and completed as a basis for
the environmental management and protection in the province.
The legal document system of environmental management and protection in the
province has been updated and improved continually. Therefore, Quang Ninh is one of the
provinces having enough the legal document system and guidance documents of
environmental state management early. (4,1-2)
Third, the province has actively cooperated with the coal industry and electricity
industry, step by step resolving issues of environmental pollution caused by the coal
mining and production system and the electricity generation system in the past; for
example, removing factories from residential areas and separating the coal transport
system from public passenger transport in order to minimize the impact of pollution on the
people's life.
Fourth, science and technology have been applied to production. Besides, the
norms relating to the local environmental protection have been issued, forming the basic
for inspecting and controlling the environmental pollution.
Fifth, economic zones, industrial parks and clusters, border-gate economic zones
and their management boards have been established to manage the local industrial
manufacturing units.
Sixth, the province has organized dissemination of environmental protection for
local people in residential areas and enterprises in industrial parks, and drawn investment
into this activity.
Seventh, in recent years, Quang Ninh has been implementing administrative
reforms, placing emphasis on the improvement of business environment and natural
environment. The province has also been a pioneer in evaluation and ranking the economic
management of the provincial departments, agencies and branches for enterprises with
DDCI Index. Therefore, the regulations on state management of environmental protection
are disseminated quickly and conveniently.

2.2 Limitations
First, ―Overcoming environmental pollution caused by coal mining and construction
material production has been inefficient‖ (2,2)
Coal mining and screening is the largest source of emissions in the province,
accounting for 79.0% of the total emission amount in 2015 and 68.8% of the total emission
amount by 2020. Two other major sources of emissions which are energy production and
consumption, cement production tend to increase rapidly in the coming period. Wastewater
from coal mining sites runs off on the surface. Coal transportation inside and outside the
mine, on the routes to factories; and operation of thermal power plants cause air pollution

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and increase the level of dust in the environment. Wastewater from thermal power plants
with high temperatures (above 40oC), which is not cooled, will negatively affect the natural
ecosystems around them. (6; 63-64)
Second, coal mining has a negative impact on the health of the residents around the
area. The dust level in coal mines and dumps is higher than the standard many times. High
dust concentrations can cause serious lung diseases.
Third, coal mining sector causes bad effects on the current tourist attractions and
the surrounding landscapes, preventing tourism development.
Fourth, in some industrial parks and clusters of the province, due to unsynchronized
technical infrastructure and limited management, wastewater collecting and processing do
not meet the requirements. Furthermore, because of the uninterrupted traffic flow of heavy
goods vehicles in some industrial parks, up to now, many construction items have been
seriously degraded.
Fifth, the funding for environmental protection in economic zones, industrial parks
and clusters is limited; so the province has not mobilized the active participation of
production and business units, communities and society.
Sixth, the quantity and quality of the environmental management tools are

inadequate, especially in remote areas. There have not been synchronous database system
and automatic environmental monitoring system yet. The funding for the management
activities of the provincial environmental protection at the industrial parks and clusters, for
example, sampling of wastewater and exhaust fumes, has been limited.
Seventh, some enterprises‘awareness of complying with state regulations of
environmental protection has been low.
2.3. Causes of limitations
Objectively, Quang Ninh has the potential for developing the coal industry,
electricity industry and construction material industry. The province also has a great
potential for developing trade, investment and tourism. However, the development of one
sector will make negative or positive influence on other sectors in the locality. The
provincial economic structure is depending on the industrial sectors causing the most
serious pollution, affecting badly the stable economic growth.
The management mechanism and autonomy of localities had a great impact on the
environmental protection in the past. Coal mining and developing thermal power and
construction material sectors in the province depended too much on the development
planning and implementation of ministries and branches at the central level. The province
only had authority in local management.
Subjectively, the awareness, thinking, vision and behavior of state agencies at all
levels in economic development and environmental protection are the most important
things. The mechanism, policies and short-term, inconsistent thinking of the generations of
local leaders have great impact on industrial development and environmental protection in
the province.

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3. Solutions for industrial development and environmental protection in
Quang Ninh
3.1. Solutions for Quang Ninh province

Frist, it is necessary to identify the strategic vision for socio-economic
development, industrial development and environmental protection in accordance with the
specific time and conditions of the province.
The current economic structure of Quang Ninh is highly dependent on the economic
sectors that have a negative impact on the environment. Therefore, the objective of
developing industries is to reduce immediately pollution at the locality. It is also the main
objective of environmental protection. The Executive Board of the Provincial Party
Committee has chosen the 2018 activity theme as ―Protecting and improving the quality of
the natural environment‖. In the medium term, strict regulations and requirements for
environmental protection should be applied. The vision to 2030 must be ―Gradually
shifting the structure of economy from ‗brown‘ activities to ‗green‘ activities, giving
priorities to develop service sector and non-mining industries, at the same time, ensuring
coal mining operations cleaner and more sustainable‖ (5, 1).
Second, the province must choose the strategies of industrial development and
environmental protection that are shifted from ―brown‖ growth to ―green‖ growth. For a
long time, the development of the provincial economy has been largely due to the coal
mining sector, construction materials industry and electricity generation industry, which is
called ―brown growth‖. At the present, it is necessary to shift to ―green growth‖, which
means developing such key industries as clean industries, supporting industries, processing
industries and hi-tech industries which are more environmentally friendly; so the province
will not have to choose between marine life and the steelmaking industry as the situation
happened at the Formosa industrial park of Ha Tinh.
Third, environmental management and protection must be a process of long-term,
continuous and synchronous efforts which are made in the direction of placing emphasis
on prevention - strictly controlling - actively overcoming the adverse effects of pollution.
The province must give priorities to prevention of pollution by such measures as
making an overall assessment for the impact of investment projects on the environment;
selecting advanced technology when reviewing projects, complying the promulgated steps
and standards for new projects without lowering environmental barriers to attract the
investment at any cost. Besides, criteria should be completed and added to form the basis for

approving the investment projects; so the danger of environmental pollution can be avoided.
It is also necessary to develop and issue a set of local environmental standards to implement
the roadmap of applying environmental standards of developed countries by 2020.
Strictly control the environmental impact assessment and strengthen the supervision
and control of the implementation of the commitments of the projects. Establish a system
of automatic environmental monitoring in the province to regularly grasp the situation and
take measures to handle in time. Carry out environmental pollution control activities based

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on new standards. To sanction enterprises and units that violate environmental regulations.
To review and supplement the strong sanctions to strictly handle environmental violations.
It is essential to strictly control the environmental impact assessment and to increase
the supervision of implementing the project commitments. Moreover, the province must
establish a system of automatic environmental monitoring to regularly follow the situation so
that they will have any necessary measures to handle it punctually. In addition, they should
carry out environmental pollution control activities based on new standards. The enterprises
or business units that violate the regulations must be imposed penalties.
The consequences of environmental pollution and degradation in the past must be
resolved. Quang Ninh needs to actively study and to have each overall environmental
evaluation for the coal industry, electricity industry and construction materials industry to
resolve the pollution caused by soil erosion, sedimentation from watershed areas of rivers
and streams. The province also needs to increase the investment in improving the
environmental landscape, the water quality of rivers and streams flowing through
residential areas which are affected heavily by dust, emission and wastewater from coal
mining, electricity generation and construction materials production.
Fourthly, it is necessary to have a complete planning for industrial parks and
clusters to classify the environment according to the level of each type of zone:
conservation zone; positive environmental management zone; environmental improvement,

rehabilitation zone and environmental development zone.
Fifth, it is essential to apply the achievements of science and technology, especially
high technology and advanced environmental protection models of developed countries to
the environmental protection and sustainable industrial development at the province.
Furthermore, it is important to study, apply, transfer clean and environmentally friendly
technologies as well as cleaner manufacturing models in the mineral mining and
processing. Besides, waste treatment and recycling technologies must also be developed.
Sixth, there must be an investment in the construction of technical infrastructure at
industrial parks and clusters to ensure that wastewater collection and treatment systems
must be established before they come into operation.
3.2. Solutions for production and business entities in the province
After all, production and business entities in the province have direct duties towards
industrial development and environmental protection. These enterprises need to step by
step apply advanced technology to production in order to save resources as well as protect
the environment. They also must implement more effective waste management solutions to
minimize negative impacts on the environment according to the 3R approach: ReduceReuse-Recycle.
The enterprises manufacturing and exploiting minerals, especially coal, need to
comply with the standard progress of production projects and to improve the environment
badly affected by the coal exploitation, processing, transportation and consumption. They
should actively expand their production capacity by using more advanced technology,

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diversify higher-value products and have better waste management to boost their
competitiveness on the market.
3.3. Proposals for related agencies
First, the Government, Ministries and branches should have a mechanism to combine
the content of socio-economic development with environmental protection at localities. They
should also have appropriate policies to encourage production and business entities in fully

complying with regulations on environmental protection and clean technology.
Second, it is important to strengthen the capacity of state environmental agencies in
building up a streamlined, appropriate and efficient environmental management apparatus; in
planning, monitoring and reviewing the Green Growth Strategy; in evaluating and monitoring
impacts on the environment to ensure the harmony between environmental protection and
economic development; in inspecting and handling environmental law violations. Besides,
information about these violations of individuals, organizations and enterprises must be
publicized on mass media in order to create public opinion and social pressures.
Third, the coal and electricity industries must actively cooperate with the province
to implement plans of relocating manufacturing facilities out of residential areas; to
overcome the consequences of air, water and soil pollution; and to ensure a healthy life.
Fourth, it is essential to boost the education and dissemination of the law on
environmental protection and biodiversity in order to raise the awareness and responsibility
of people, organizations and enterprises. Moreover, it is neccessary to promote the
supervision role of communities to strongly condemn the environmental law violations.
Bibliography
1. Quang Ninh Province‘s Statistical Office (2017), Quang Ninh Province‟s
Statistical Yearbook 2016, Hanoi Statistics Publishing House, pp. 43-147.
2. Quang Ninh People‘s Council (2016), Summary Report on socio-economic
development master plan for Quang Ninh province till 2020, with a vision toward 2030,
pp.1-83; 127-183.
3. Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee (2015), Resolution of the 14th
Congress of the Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee in the 2015-2020 term, dated
October 14th 2015.
4. Quang Ninh People‘s Council (2015), Resolution on policies and measures to
strengthen the management of environmental protection in Quang Ninh Province in the
2016-2020 term.
5. Quang Ninh People‘s Council (2010), Resolution No. 32/2010/NQ-HDND dated
December 10th, 2010 on environmental management and protection in Quang Ninh province.
6. The Prime Minister (2013); Decision No. 2622/QD-TTg dated December 31st,

2013; Approving the master plan on socio-economic development of Quang Ninh province
till 2020, with a vision toward 2030; pp.1-15.

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PROBLEMS OF SEA FISHING IN RANONG PROVINCE, THAILAND
Pawida Rungsee

Prof. Sekson Yongvanit*

Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences,
Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
*corresponding author
Abstract
This article has the objective of analyzing the problems of sea fishing in Ranong
province, Thailand. All documents used in this article are from literature review. Ranong
province is located in the upper part of southern Thailand, on the Andaman Sea, so the
area is considered as being exceptional for sea fishing. Analysis of the many documents
regarding the problems of sea fishing in Ranong revealed many issues. The government
has tried to resolve the problems, without success, due to the complexity of the issues
regarding the public management of sea fishing. This paper presents a collaborative
governance concept in order to resolve this problem with the involvement of all
stakeholders. Thailand‟s Fishing Act. of 2015 AD sets a good trend for the future as it
contains regulations concerning collaborative governance of sea fishing.
Keywords: Sea Fishing, Ranong Province, Collaborative Governance
1. Importance of Fisheries in Thailand
Thailand has a total of 23 coastal areas, including 6 provinces on the Andaman
coast and 17 provinces on the Gulf coast. The coastline is 2,942.35 km in length. Fisheries,
especially sea fishing, have been around for a long time. During the First National Economic

Development Plan (1961-1966), Thailand was supported by foreigners in obtaining
advanced fishing gear and technologies. Thailand's fisheries were becoming more modern in
terms of commercial fisheries and increasingly important. According to the National
Economic and Social Development Plan, No. 6 (1987-1991), the Thai fisheries sector had a
high level of fishery production, and ranked as one of the top ten in the world. In 2014, the
value of fisheries was calculated to account for 8 percent of Thai agriculture GDP. Total
output of fisheries in Thailand totaled 2.56 million tons, 1.67 million tons (65%) from
fishing and 0.89 million tons (35%) from cultured fish. The caught fish value was 1,938
million USD (43 percent) and the cultured fish value was 2,745.33 million USD (57%). The
total value of fish exports in 2016 was 6,873.94 million USD.
Thailand‘s major export markets include the United States, Japan, the European
Union, and ASEAN (Department of Fisheries, 2017, 3-4). Thailand's fisheries are
important as a source of food security for more than 2,500 local fishing communities

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around the coast. It is an important part of the economy as fishery products are exported,
bringing in foreign currency for the country. Furthermore, the fishing industry is also a
strong source of employment, since there are about 172,430 fishermen (82% foreigners)
employed, and about 515,000 people are employed in related industries, most of whom are
women. These industries include: aquatic animal processing, shipbuilding, canned and
frozen fish products and fish meal production (Department of Fisheries, 2015).
2. Geography of Sea Fisheries in Ranong Province
Ranong Province is a major fishery area of Thailand and is located in the Upper
South, about 568 km from Bangkok. The area covers about 3,324.60 square km, or about
2,141,250 rai, (4.7 percent of the southern region). It is the 11th largest province in the
South and the 60th largest in the country.

Fig.1 Ranong province maps

Source: />Topography
- North and East adjacent to Chumphon Province
-South adjacent to Phang Nga and Surat Thani Provinces.
-West adjacent to Kho Song island, Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the
Andaman Sea
The geography of the province's fisheries is that it is located on the upper Andaman
Sea, bordered by the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, where the Khmer River provides
the border. The coastline is about 151 km long, which is divided into two parts: 93 km
long, and 58 km long. Because the boundary line between Thailand and the Republic of the
Union of Myanmar slopes down at about 45 degrees to Thailand, the fishing area in
Ranong Province is quite limited, it is only about 1,377 square km. Although Ranong

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Province has a limited fishing area, it is able to produce the most abundant fishing when
compared to the various provinces bordering the Andaman Sea. This is due to the fact that
there is not only sea fishing in the Ranong Province and neighbouring areas, but there are
also sea creatures from the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Ranong Fisheries
Provincial Office, 2013, 34)
3. Importance of fishery in Ranong Province
The top five production structures in Ranong Province are: Agriculture, Fisheries,
Wholesale-Retail, Repairing motor vehicles and households, Logistics and Industry. The
fishing industry ranks second in the production structure, at 21 percent. (Ranong Statistical
Provincial Office, 2014, 1-4). The annual Provincial Gross Domestic Product and the
production values of the fishery sector in Ranong Province are as follows.
Table 1. Gross Provincial Product at Ranong Province's Fisheries Production Value
Million USD
Year


2008

2009r

2010r

2011r

2012r

2013r

2014r

2015p

GPP

19,970 19,884 21,568 22,221 22,674 22,854 23,558 23,250

Fisheries
Production Value

147.87 142.58 136.27 164.76 135.27 126.62 133.13 122.27

Note: r is derived from real term with inflation adjusted.
Source: Office of The National Economic and Social Department Board, 2017, 102.
Fishery production activities in Ranong Province provide values as follows.
1) The fishery of aquatic animals landed in Ranong Province. As mentioned,
Ranong Province has limited fishing areas but has the most abundant fish when comparing

to various provinces by the Andaman Sea due to the fact that the fishing area is located in
Ranong Province and neighbouring areas. There are also aquatic animals caught in the
Republic of the Union of Myanmar. The value of the aquatic animals in the port of Ranong
Province is therefore as follows.
Table 2. Important statistics of Ranong Province fishing harbour 2012-2016
Transportation (round)
Quantity of
value
Year aquatic animals
Import
(USD million)
Export Car
(metric tons)
Boat
Car
2012
2013

31,521
27,307

59,260,663.56
49,342,513.19

2,535
2,449

-

2,958

3,090

2014
2015

24,186
22,679

40,013,643.08
32,259,326.13

2,212
2,076

-

3,079
2,880

2016
21,167
33,408,261.03
2,720
3,387
Source: Bureau of Monitoring and Evaluation, Fish Marketing Organization, 2016, 84
Just 10% of the docked aquatic animals will be consumed in the province. The rest
will be exported to foreign countries as follows:

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-Export through Hat Yai to Malaysia and Singapore, about 1in 4 fish from Ranong
Province. Small fish are sent to four fish processing factories, which produce 24 tons per day.
- Import to the Bangkok Fish Market. In 2016, it was found that more than half of
the aquatic animals (50.35%) came from Ranong Province, which was much higher than
from other provinces. It was not only in 2016 that the fresh sea aquatic animals from
Ranong Province were brought to the Bangkok‘s fish market, more than other provinces.
When viewing data for the past 5 years, it was found that fresh aquatic animals from
Ranong Province were brought to the Bangkok fish market, more than from any other
provinces, and that trend is increasing every year. These aquatic animals were auctioned to
3 different sources: 1) Buyers, i.e.; buyers in Bangkok sub-markets and other provinces
including cold rooms. Most aquatic animal products were distributed by over 92.42%
buyers. 2) Processing and exporting abroad and 3) others
2) Coastal aquaculture such as white shrimp, white snapper, white bass, scallop
and mussel- Due to the abundance of natural aquatic animals in the waters, competition in
fishery is quite high, and fishermen come from a variety of areas.
3) Seafood production figures in 2011 revealed that the production of frozen seafood
in Ranong Province was expanding. This is the income from the operator, declared for tax, in
the industry. Sea food production increased from 204.85 million USD in 2009 to 261 million
USD in 2010, representing a rise of 22.5% due to the increasing demand from overseas
markets due to the recovery of the global economy. The sea food production potential of
Ranong Province is considered as the main source of fishery resources of the Andaman
coast, which has high potential for seafood production. Ranong Province also has many
advantages regarding labour and low wages. (Ranong Fisheries Provincial Office, 2013)
The activities and production value of the fishery sector came from 2,434
fishing households in the province, including 2, 143 households engaged in fishing
alone, 151 households were engaged in coastal and 136 households were engaged in
coastal offshore fishing. (Department of Fisheries Policy and Strategy, 2017, 80) In
December 2017 Thailand had 37,049 migrant workers who were working legally, of
which 35,643 were able to prove their nationality. (Foreign Workers Administration

Office, 2017 ) Most of these migrants work in the fisheries sector, where there is a
shortage of workers in Thailand.
4. Problems of Fishery in Ranong Province
Although fishery in Ranong Province, especially commercial fishery, can create
economic value and income for the country, there are still several issues. The Ranong
Fisheries Provincial Office (2013, 56) disclosed the problems of fisheries in the province,
such as conflicts between local fisheries and commercial fishing, the problem of illegal
fishing using illegal tools, such as using trawl nets, anchovy fishing in restricted areas,
fishermen lacking awareness, overlapping fisheries, neighbouring fisheries, etc.
In general, the fisheries resources have been exploited for a long time. This has
resulted in degradation and over fishing. The production capacity of the resource,

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preventing over fishing, is based on the MSY value, which is the optimal value of fishing
when compared to actual fishing and the value of the aquatic species integrity. Also, the
main problem comes from commercial fishing vessels using nets that that are smaller mesh
than the smaller fishing boats. This has the potential to destroy the enormous resources.
The problems of fishery in important areas such as Ranong Province are consistent with
the problems of fisheries in the country, overall.
Over Fishing in Thailand began in 1991. The government is trying to solve the
problem by setting public policy as a guideline for responding to the problems that arise
(Supachai Yawapan, 2009, 3). The 7th National Economic and Social Development Plan
(1992-1996) illustrated awareness of the deterioration of fishery resources; such as by
setting up regulations regarding boat control and creating a ‗master plan‘ for fisheries
management at the local level, set to get the highest return, etc.
The 9th edition of the National Economic and Social Development Plan (20022006) enacted the repeal of fishing gear that destroyed coastal ecosystems. However, on 21
April 2015, the European Union issued a ‗yellow card‘ to warn Thailand against illegal
fishing which was referred to as ‗Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fishing‘ (IUU

Fishing). The alert is raised when a fishery destroys the marine resources, it is a great
threat to sustainable fishing, and violates conservation measures undertaken in conjunction
with other countries or is in violation of international law ratified by the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). If Thailand doesn‘t provide an acceptable
solution urgently, the EU may take measures to halt the import of fishery products from
Thailand. The government has set up a management plan for marine fisheries in Thailand,
the National Policy for Marine Fisheries Management, 2015-2019, which is not intended to
address the IUU fishing issue in isolation, but also has other objectives as:
1) Reduction of the fishing potential and fishing effort.
2) Restoration of aquatic resources by planting artificial reefs and aquaculture.
3) Reduction of IUU fishery through effective monitoring and control measures.
4) Reduction of the catches of the species of economic importance.
5) Conflict resolution between local and commercial fisheries.
6) Restoration and maintenance of aquatic habitats.
7) An update of fisheries information
8) Strengthening fishery management
According to the plan, commercial fishing operators in Ranong Province would be
affected as follows:
Objective 1: The reduction of fishing potential and effort. The objective is to reduce
fishing capacity and fishing effort within 3 years, especially fishing boats for sea-ground
fish, 40 percent in the Gulf of Thailand and 10 percent in the Andaman Sea, and for seasurface fish by 30 percent in the Gulf of Thailand and 20 percent in the Andaman Sea. This

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will be through the use of the Marine Fisheries Management Plan in these areas. The
measures taken are MSY considerations before issue of a fishing license. Large commercial
fishing boats will not be able to fish for 3 months because the new fishing licenses for 20182019 will have to wait until April 2018. Commercial fishing boats will be able to catch fish
again, which will have a large impact on the economy both in the purchasing of raw
materials for the boats prior to leaving for fishing, the sale of fish to fish traders, and export

processing plants, which lost revenue valued at about 300 billion baht or about 100 billion
baht per month. These figures do not include the impact of the import of expensive fish, as a
substitute, during the high season of tourism. (Than Setthakij Online, 2018)
Objective 4: Reduction in the catches of species of economic importance. The goal
is to reduce the proportion of small catches, to 50 percent of the current catch, in the next 5
years. The measures are the order of the chief of the NCPO Section 44- ‗No person shall
use or possess fishing gear such as trawl nets, with mesh smaller than 5 centimetres‘. This
led to more than 150 trawler fishermen in Ranong Province submitting a letter to the
provincial governor to ask the state to review this law enforcement. More than 200 fishing
boats were unable to catch fish because of the lack of a license and the boats must remain
docked. As a result, the fishing vessel owners lost income, due to not being able to go out
to catch fish. They also had to pay for care and expenses, including mooring fees, which
amount to $ 15.55 per boat, per day. At present, many fishing boat owners are discouraged
from engaging in fishing. I do not see a solution or government help. Therefore, most of
them will have to sell their ships, without a license. (Matichon Online, 2015)
Furthermore, commercial fishermen are also affected by the enactment of the
Aliens Act of 2018, where both labour and operators face very high costs in the process of
obtaining a work permit, the penalty for non-compliance is very high. Workers and
entrepreneurs are concerned that this will cause a shortage of labour and possibly lead to
‗circumvention‘ of the law, especially in the border areas of Ranong Province where it is
easy to cross the border.
It seems that the problem of fisheries in Ranong Province is one that overwhelms
government due to the over fishing that resulted in the destruction of marine resources. The
policies and measures push the entire burden on to the fisheries sector, which the state
previously supported, as it is a major manufacturing sector that generates revenue for the
country. The solution to the conflicts therefore contrasts with the concept of fishery
management, which has three main paradigms to consider: resource conservation, social,
and economic. Fisheries management policy must be based on the integration and balance
of these three paradigms (Charles, 2000).
The solution must concern the whole system of implementation of the final

objectives of the fisheries management plan, which is to strengthen fisheries management.
The goal is to create effective fishing management. This is very important because if it can
be managed, other problems can be solved.

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5. Solutions to fisheries problems in Ranong Province
Considering the problems of fisheries in the whole of Thailand and in particular
Ranong Province, it was found that the problem may have been solved, yet still continues.
Society has noted the potential of the state to implement a policy to solve the problems of
fisheries resources, which are public property that the centralized government must
manage, in unity, in the cheapest and most effective way. This is very difficult due to
policy fragmentation in many organizations involved in the work of power division, and
the management of public and private sectors. The public-private distinction, as in the
traditional values of public administration, has vanished.
However, decentralization has the power to draw all sectors related to public works
into the management process and acts as a co-operator with, or as, a government agency.
This leads to acceptance of state policy that participants share feelings and ownership in
and can be targeted for all parts to play their role in the right to drive resources, and the
resources from multiple parties, to achieve common goals (Kjoer, 2006, 4-5).
The author therefore presents the concept of shared management. Collaborative
Governance is used in fisheries management to solve fisheries problems in Ranong
Province and other areas of the country. Krik Emerson, Tina Nabachi and Stephen Balogh
(2012) defined the meaning of Collaborative Governance in decision-making structures in
public policy and management that actively participates with the people. Collaborative
Governance works across the boundaries of government agencies, at government level and
/ or in the public sector, private sector, and has a scope of knowledge that the state, alone,
cannot achieve. This also corresponds to the findings of Chris Ansell and Alison Gush
(2007), that Collaborative Governance is defined as a multi-sector governing body. Both

government and non-governmental stakeholders join in the official decision making,
focusing on consensus in discussions to create, or implement, policies to solve the public
problems of the country and/ or to achieve development goals that are too difficult to
accomplish individually. (Tossaporn Sirisampan, 2016, 4)
Fisheries management requires diverse knowledge including, biology for resource
conservation, economics for trading, income, and human resources for the rights of coastal
fishing communities and labour. Therefore, problem solving requires multiple parties to
work together. As a result, the author proposes a common management concept for
fisheries. There are several researches related to the management of environmental and
natural resources, such as the research by Rob D. Fish (a), Antonio AR Ioris (b) and Nigel
M.Watson (c) (2010). ―Integrating Water and Agricultural Management: A Collaborative
Governance for a Complex Policy Problem‖ which is a study of five European union
member states in Northwest Europe; Research by Jae-Young Ko et al. (2017) on
―Challenges in Collaborative Governance for Coastal Restoration: Lessons from the
Caernarvon River Diversion in Louisiana; A research of Judith Westerinka et al. (2017) on
―Collaborative governance arrangements to deliver spatially coordinated agri-environmental
management‖ and; Christina M. Kossmanna, Jelle H. Behagel (a), Megan Bailey (b)
(2016) ―Action and Inertia in Collaborative Governance of Marine Protected Areas (MPA)
in Indonesia‖. It was found in all studies mentioned above that:

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1) Shared management creates a collaborative mechanism of actors who are the
stakeholders in the policy, such as operating in the form of a network of committees.
2) Management is a combination of learning, coordination, and social activities to
build understanding, trust, and to resolve conflicts between parties.
For Thailand, joint management is a good trend since the 2015 Fisheries Act states
the following issues:
1) The National Fisheries Policy Committee and the Provincial Fisheries

Commission comprises the sectors related to the fisheries in the provinces, such as; the
representatives of local fisheries organizations in coastal fisheries, offshore fisheries,
freshwater fisheries, aquaculture activities or aquatic animals processing. This also
includes scholars and people experienced in fisheries or natural resources and the
environment, to work with the government to gather recommendations, suggestions, and
solutions for fisheries management, maintenance, conservation, rehabilitation and the
utilization of the aquatic resources of the local fishing community organizations, in the
area responsible for policy making.
2) The government shall encourage the collection and organization of fishing
community organizations to allow The Department of Fisheries to advise, provide
information to disseminate to the local fishing community for management, to promote the
maintenance, conservation, rehabilitation and utilization of aquatic resources as a
community project or activity.
However, the implementation of the concept of shared management, within
Thailand, is a new issue that has recently taken place in the law to develop terms of
implementation of effective management of fisheries effectively.
6. Conclusion
Thailand is a major fishing area of the world. During the 6th National Economic
and Social Development Plan (1987-1991), the fisheries sector was ranked as one of the
top 10 fisheries in the world. At the same time, sea fishery is a source of food for the
fishing community in Thailand. It produces revenue for the country, and creates
employment. One major fishing area is Ranong Province that is located in the Upper South
of the country, adjacent to the Andaman Sea. In 2015, Ranong Province had fishery
production valued at 122.27 billion USD, resulting from the catching of aquatic animals,
importing aquatic animals from neighbouring countries for export and domestic sales,
coastal aquaculture and seafood production. However, the long-term commercial fisheries
are often responsible for over-fishing. Hence, the government has a policy to address this
problem, but it cannot be done effectively because fisheries problems are complex and
involve many parties. The author therefore proposes a common management approach of
collaborative governance to be used in fisheries management. This will allow the related

sectors to resolve issues with the government. It is likely that, in Thailand, a good example
of this, as a guideline for the implementation of the Fisheries Act 2015, must be
implemented effectively.

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