Mr. Suchart Sangchan, Director of Andaman Sea Fisheries Research & Development Center (Phuket) provided a background of the REBYC‐II CTI Project and presented the results of the experiment on enlarged mesh size in the cod‐end. Mrs. Kulapa Boonchuwong, a DOF expert on fisheries economics provided an overview of Thailand’s fishmeal production including the strategic management of low‐value fish intended for use as fishmeal. In 2014, the total amount of trash fish in Thailand was around 347,566 MT; about 92% of which was caught by trawlers. About 8% came from the neighboring waters of Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. The price of trash fish was around 7 Baht per kg. Raw material sources to make fishmeal were: trash fish from trawlers (35%), fish carcasses (35%) and tuna processing waste (30%). In 2014 the average fishmeal price was 34.67 Baht per kg. The total number of fishmeal plants in Thailand in 2014 was 86. Factories receiving GMP standard numbered 61, whilst 42 received both GMP and HACCP standards. The total amount of fishmeal exported in 2014 was 175,179 MT of which the destination countries were China (42.4%), Japan (19.5%), Vietnam (15.7%) and Indonesia (7.0%). Imports of fishmeal in 2014 totaled 21,390 MT, from Myanmar (48.7%), Vietnam (37.5%), Peru (2%), Denmark (3.0%) and Norway (1.5%). Mrs. Boonchuwong discussed the problems that will likely occur when implementing new mesh size regulations, noting that when the landings of trash fish will be reduced, less will be available for fishmeal production. The new IUU restriction measures will also have a negative effect on trawlers: trash fish handling and transportation needs to be improved to maintain better quality and high price. It was also pointed out that recent global economic crisis (fluctuations) have impacted on fish meal exports and imports Mrs. Boonchuwong proposed a strategy for trawl fishery management. This included the following points:

o Laws and regulations on trawl cod‐end mesh sizes should be enforced strongly;

o Increased areas for nursing grounds should be established;

o Area and seasonal closures should be expanded;

o Fish handling on board, at the pier and on land as well as transportation, should be developed and improved to produce good quality fish at a high price; and

o Other sources of protein, such as soybean, should be considered for use in fishmeal production.

Supongpan, M. (2015). Round Table for High Senior Business Meeting “Trawl fisheries and Bycatch management”. Training Department,Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center.