13/01/2026
Published!!
Yuttharax, J., Noranarttragoon, P., Thitipongtrakul, W. and Matsuishi, TF. Ecological reality of trash fish catches from trawlers under tropical multispecies and multi-gear fisheries in the Gulf of Thailand. Fish Sci (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-025-01952-9
PDF: https://rdcu.be/eYLu4
This paper examines the status of fishery resources and marine ecosystems in the Gulf of Thailand by analyzing so-called “trash fish”—low-value fish such as juveniles—caught in Thailand’s trawl fisheries.
In many countries, these low-value fish are discarded at sea after being caught. In contrast, Thailand lands almost all of them and uses them mainly as raw material for fishmeal. This practice is a distinctive feature of Thai fisheries and provides a rare opportunity to study the full composition of trawl catches.
Since 2016, the Department of Fisheries of Thailand has routinely collected detailed data on trash fish, including species composition and body-length distributions of major species. In most parts of the world, information on discarded fish is available only from occasional observer surveys. The Thai dataset, however, is exceptional in both quantity and quality, and is considered one of the most valuable long-term datasets of its kind worldwide.
Analysis of these data shows that, despite the continued capture of small fish, catch per unit effort (CPUE) and the average trophic level of the catch have remained relatively stable over time. This indicates that fishery resources and ecosystem structure in the Gulf of Thailand have not shown clear signs of deterioration, even under sustained fishing pressure.
These findings suggest that the harvesting of small fish does not necessarily lead to resource depletion or ecosystem collapse, provided that the system is properly monitored and managed. The results also support the idea proposed by Matsuishi (2025) that fishery resources in Southeast Asia may exhibit a relatively high degree of resilience to fishing and environmental pressures.
By focusing on trash fish—an often overlooked component of fisheries—this study offers a new and important perspective on sustainable fisheries management and ecosystem conservation, particularly in tropical, multi-species fishing systems.
Matsuishi (2025) https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-025-01854-w
Trash fish (TF) are small, low-value species, juveniles, and fish with low freshness, primarily processed into fishmeal for animal feeds. Although TF utilization is often criticized for stock depletion and ecosystem damage, concrete evidence remains limited. The Gulf of Thailand (GoT) is a large tro...