Fresh confrontation looming between clam fishermen and clam farm operators
Recent “arrest” of six clam fishermen on theft charge has threatened to exacerbate the simmering conflict between clam farm operators and local fishermen who have made a living by catching clam in the sea off Pattani province.
The six men, identified as Arma Pajuma, Wea-u-seng Sanee, Alie Mama, Samarn Toseng, Jemueda Waehama and Kodae Samae were taken into police custody in Muang district on September 27 after two clam farm operators, Prakit sae Tan and Ahmad Sulgiflee Da-oh, loged a complaint to the police accusing them of stealing clam from their farms in the Pattani bay.
Their “arrest” promoted about 50 fishermen from several villages in Muang district to hold a rally in front of the police station to give the detainees moral support. The demonstrators also vowed to stage a larger protest in front of the provincial hall if the authorities are unable to resolve the conflict soon.
One of the protesters said that the fishermen, numbering about 1,000 families, have been catching clam in the sea off Pattani coast for generations without any problem until some investors have started clam farming in the seal and claimed ownership of all the clam in the sea.
He said that since the sea belongs to everyone and the clam are naturally bred, it can be caught by anyone.
One of the six facing the theft charge, Wae-u-seng Sanee, said that his family had been catching clam in the sea since his grandfathers and none of them had ever been arrested for doing so.
Conflict between clam farm operators and clam fishermen came to head when clam fishermen staged a massive hunt of the clam by employing many boats using trawl nets to catch clam both day and night. The fishermen claimed that the calm farm operators had trespassed on their traditional fishing ground.
The clam farm operators however countered that they were not big-time investors but merely small investors who grouped together to start clam farming with financial support from governmental agencies and the Prince of Songkhla University’s Pattani campus.
They claimed that they had been in the business for about three decades without serious conflict with the local fishermen.
Pol Colonel Narucha Suwanmala, the provincial police superintendent, said that it was misleading that the six men were arrested. In fact, he said they were just summonsed to offer their points of view about the theft charge against them.
He then urged the provincial governor and representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to step in to mediate the conflict between the two groups of people.
Sunan Leecharoen, the district’s fishery officer, said that the sea off Pattani is a public place where everyone can fish. He added however that a permission would be required if anyone wanted to undertake special fishing. So far, no such permission has been granted, he continued.