World Food Policy Volume/Issue 2-2/3-1 Fall 2015/Spring 2016 | Page 37

World Food Policy

fishing group in the village of Khan
Kradai. Fishers here catch an array of
species annually, often in the form of
bycatc2 since most fishers target one or
more of six main species: short-bodied
mackerel, Indo-Pacific king mackerel,
goldstripe sardinella, blue swimming
crab, splendid squid, and banana shrimp.
Catch averages per trip and per species
vary greatly (5–500 kg) (Table 2), with
fishers using hook and lines, surface
gill nets, bottom gill nets, and trammel

nets with differing mesh sizes to target
particular species (e.g., bottom gill nets
of 4.5 cm mesh size are used to target
short-bodied mackerel compared with
surface gill nets with a mesh size of 2.9 cm
that target goldstripe sardinella). These
species are sold daily to the middleperson
(MP) or to the Shop when the Shop is
purchasing local seafood. Since the Shop
pays considerably higher prices for local
seafood than the MP (Table 2), fishers
prefer to sell to the Shop when possible.

Table 2: Main species and price premiums in one village
Targeted fish species

Seasonality

Average

Price

Price

Price

kilograms

paid

paid

premium

by

by

(Baht, %)

per trip

a

MP

b

Shop

(Baht)

(Baht)

300
400
500
200

385
484
578
301

85 (28.3)
84 (21.0)
78 (15.6)
101 (50.5)

Banana shrimp, small
Banana shrimp, medium
Banana shrimp, large
Blue swimming crab

Nov–Jan

5–10

Oct–Jan

5–10

Goldstripe sardinella

Sept–Nov

300–500

8

22

14 (275.0)

Indo-Pacific king mackerel

Sep–Nov

10–30

190

209

19 (10.0)

Short-bodied mackerel
Splendid squid

Jan–Mar, Sept–
Sept–Nov
Oct

100–300
10–20

40
115

45
245

5 (10.0)
130 (113.0)

Source: Focus group discussion and interviews

The amount of species caught fluctuates throughout the year, with fishers catching higher volumes
during peak season (e.g., fishers can catch 1000 kg or more of short-bodied mackerel or goldstripe
sardinella in a single trip)
b
The price offered by a MP or the Shop also fluctuates according to supply and demand. The Shop
prices above are calculated yearly averages, whereas the price paid by the MP is based on one focus
group.
a

2

The type and total bycatch varies depending on gear used. According to fishers, when using trammel
nets up to 80 percent of catch per trip is comprised of non-target species such as tiger-toothed croaker,
four finger threadfin, and soft cuttlefish, whereas bycatch from hook and line (e.g., Indo-Pacific sailfish, barracuda, and emperor red snapper) amounts to only 1 percent of total catch per trip.

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