Phuket tour boat drivers fined B1,000 for dropping anchors on coral

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Phuket tour boat drivers fined B1,000 for dropping anchors on coral

The Phuket News

 

Three of the seven boats wanted for dropping their anchors on a coral reef off phi Phi Island last week (as pictured above) were caught returning to the scene with more tourists on board. on Wednesday (Sept 20). Photo: Supplied

 

PHUKET: -- Three of the seven boat drivers called in by national park officials for dropping their anchors on a coral reef at Phi Phi Island last week have been fined just B1,000 each for damaging corals after returning to the scene with more tourists on Wednesday (Sept 20).

 

Worapot Lomlim, Chief of the Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, told The Phuket News today (Sept 22) that the three boats returned to the same popular tourist site and were instantly caught by national park officials and fined B1,000 each.

 

“The three boat drivers returned on Wednesday (Sept 20). They did not drop their anchors this time as officials are watching over the area,” he said.

 

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-tour-boat-drivers-fined-b1-000-for-dropping-anchors-on-coral-63996.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2017-09-22

[kotsak]

1,000 baht.. they must be joking.. On second thought, they fine less for much worse offences.. 

[stevenl]

In the Phuket area the DMCR has been much harsher on boats and their operators for violations against the environment. Time also the Phi Phi national park follows suit.

[dick dasterdly]

I'm sure the 1,000 bht fine will discourage them and others from dropping their anchors on coral in the future .

[Dave67]

You can see the ruins in Ayutthaya of the old city that Heritage and History is not the Thais number one priority

[peperobi]

That is really a very bad joke, he got 1,000 B day by day only as a tip! Shut be much more to prevent that he doesn't do it again.

[steelepulse]

Compare this to the Russian ( or Chinese, or both) that got 100K fine for feeding fish.  Something's afoul in judicial land.

[jonclark]

With fines so small there is no deterent value in them at all. 

[stevenl]

1 hour ago, steelepulse said:

Compare this to the Russian ( or Chinese, or both) that got 100K fine for feeding fish.  Something's afoul in judicial land.

That was Phuket, this is Phi Phi so krabi.

 

Phuket DMCR is really trying to enforce things, at Phi Phi there have been many, many issues with the national parks in the (recent) past.

[steelepulse]

Regardless of jurisdiction, this should be a national issue, not a per province issue.  Somehow I think if local boat operators dropped anchor on Phuket coral they wouldn't face 100K like the tourists.  I'd really like to see the statutes that say feeding fish is 100K fine and killing coral with an anchor is worthy of only 1K baht.  

 

On top of this, causing damage in a national park should be at least double the fine of doing so outside of a national park.

[YetAnother]

On 9/22/2017 at 2:34 PM, kotsak said:

1,000 baht.. they must be joking.. On second thought, they fine less for much worse offences.. 

some of their talk aside, shows how much they really value their environment

[rosst]

That is a joke, 1,000 Baht not worth the effort, 50,000 and suspension from tours for one month, would not do it again. 

[YetAnother]

On 9/22/2017 at 2:34 PM, kotsak said:

1,000 baht.. they must be joking.. On second thought, they fine less for much worse offences.. 

But they also complained about the 1000