Oyster farmers in Ban Don Bay, in the southern province of Surat Thani, are complaining that a fisheries official is demanding 10,000 baht “under-the-table” to issue a permit to farm oysters there.
One of them told a Thai PBS reporter based in Surat Thani province that he acts as the representative of a group of farmers applying for permits. The normal procedure is for the applications and supporting documents to be submitted to the provincial fisheries committee for consideration. In this case, however, the applications are having to be submitted through a middleman, who is known to be closely associated with a fisheries official authorised to issue the permits.
The farmer claimed that, while the applications were being processed, the middleman informed him that each of the applicants must pay 10,000 to “facilitate” the documentation processing.
He claimed that another 10,000 baht each is being demanded before they can receive the permits, adding that the permits to farm is for only in 5.12 hectares in the area in the bay, instead of the 9.6 hectares for which they had applied.
The farmer also claimed that some local companies have used nominees to apply for permits, in breach of the agreement that only locals living around the bay are allowed to engage in oyster farming.
A conflict over overlapping farming area permits erupted, including shootings, between the local farmers and outsiders about four years ago, forcing authorities to step in to regulate the industry, he said.
The area reserved for oyster farms covers about 1,920 hectares of the Ban Don Bay, in Bang Chana and Khlong Chanak sub-districts in Muang district of Surat Thani. Altogether 330 people applied for permits, but only 176 were granted.
