Socio-economic assessment and fishers' perceptions of fisheries management in the freshwater fishing area of the Pak Phanang River basin (PPRB), Nakhon Si thammarat province, Thailand

Most government projects are implemented with little input and participation from the local people. The objective of this study was to assess the fishers' socio-economic status, their perceptions on the aquatic resources and fisheries management, and their recommendations for improvement of fisheries management in the freshwater fishing area of the Pak Phanang River basin (PPRB), Nakhon Si Thammarat province, southern Thailand. An in-depth semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 161 fishers' households. The findings of the study showed that most fishers had an annual income from fishing only (80%) that was below the poverty line. Based on the fishers' perceptions, the aquatic resources were declining due to the deterioration of water quality, increased aquatic weed growth, declining fish stock, and sometimes fish death which all affected their fishing income. The fishers were highly appreciative of the role of the Department of Fisheries and local government units in fisheries management but they had a negative perception of farmers who use chemicals in agriculture because these chemicals were washed into the river, causing fish deaths. They agreed with some activities and measures such as not fishing during the spawning season and in spawning grounds, and not using illegal gear, but they disagreed with some measures such as controlling the quantity of fish caught and ruling on the number of fishers and times for fishing because these would affect their fishing income. The fishers mainly recommended that they should be more involved in fisheries management, particularly in the planning and decision-making steps.