The Association of Folk Fishermen of Thailand has requested the Department of Fisheries to expedite the issuance of local fishing licenses for small fishermen for the development of the Small Scale Service issuing permit system for local fisheries from 2023 – 2024. The system will regulate fishing boats and fishing gear, with a total of 49,800 boats registered in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. Criteria for consideration include legal fishing rights, no prohibited characteristics, ownership or possessory right in the fishing vessel, and compliance with size and registration requirements. A teleconference has been announced for guidelines on issuing local fishery certificates for the fishery year 2023-2024.