The “Returned Waste to the Shore, Restore Our Sea” project was launched to tackle the issue of marine debris in a sustainable manner. It is a collaborative initiative between the Department of Fisheries, the commercial fishing sector, and registered fishing ports, covering 23 coastal provinces across Thailand. The project applies the BCG (Bio-Circular-Green) economic model through various activities, including public awareness campaigns, marine debris collection both on fishing vessels and along shorelines, and the transformation of collected plastic waste into products that generate income for coastal communities.

Since its inception in 2019, the Department of Fisheries has worked in close collaboration with the commercial fisheries sector to implement the project. A key operational role has been assigned to all 30 Port In – Port Out (PIPO) centers nationwide, which are responsible for educating fishers on minimizing the use of non-biodegradable containers and packaging, avoiding the disposal of waste, fishing gear, and other equipment at sea, and recording the quantity of waste brought back to shore. In addition, registered fishing ports have actively supported the initiative by establishing designated collection and sorting points for marine debris.

Project Results
As of March 2025, a total of 4,850 participants had registered to take part in the initiative.
From November 2019 to March 2025, a total of 473,647 kilograms of debris was brought back to shore, comprising:

372,230 kilograms collected from fishing vessels
101,417 kilograms collected directly from the sea
When categorized by waste type, the data shows:

26% was fishing net fragments
24% was plastic bottles
19% was other types of waste