French tourists arrested for catching protected parrotfish off Promthep Cape in Phuket

[steven100]

5 hours ago, lucifer666 said:

It never ceases to amaze me how many morons think that they can get away with anything here

absolutely correct .....    and it never ceases to amaze me how many TV morons cry wolf when ever the police or Junta are involved. 

who cares if they were set up,  dobbed in, caught out ,   they were doing something that is considered illegal for crying out allowed   !!

[SunsetT]

I remember spear fishing for the 1st time in the Caribbean way back in 1973 and I still remember that they were the most stupid fish who would trustingly swim up to u so very easy to spear.

 

But today, especially with the maturity of these tourists, in age at least, most people should know that fish stocks internationally, especially reef fish and even the reefs are under serious threat of extinction. They should know better.

Edited January 20, 2018 by SunsetT

[Destiny1990]

21 hours ago, aonangkrabi said:

I am sorry crazygreg but Phromthep cape is really the southernmost point of Phuket. Check google maps.

Maybe his name reveals ussomething here..

[Borzandy]

In fact they were arrested because they didn't practice fishing slavery.

[farcanell]

23 hours ago, crazygreg44 said:

marine animals near Phromthep Cape, the southernmost point of Phuket.

 

 . . Phromthep Cape is the westermost point of Phuket

And what is the southern most point, prey tell?

[farcanell]

13 hours ago, Old Croc said:

When you don't know what you're talking about it's usually a good idea to keep quiet.

These guys were diving or snorkeling (see the pic of the weight belts), and I'm fairly sure not one of them had a peg leg or the name Capt Ahab, nor were they harpooning from the bow of the longtail!

When you've spent as much of your life boating, fishing, diving and spearfishing as me you could then try the little lecture.

Incidentally, in nearly 13 years on this forum you are the 738th wit to spell my nik that way in a pathetic attempt to insult. 

Old croc does nor auto correct to old crock .... just checking ?

[Kiwisailor]

19 hours ago, Russell17au said:

It is quite simple, if you are a driver you check the road laws, if you are a fisherman then you check the fishing laws.

And if you are a politician you check the corruption and asset disclosure laws ..... oops, sorry.  Pass go and pay 5,000 Baht.

[Retiredandhappyhere]

8 hours ago, lucifer666 said:

It never ceases to amaze me how many morons think that they can get away with anything here

Perhaps it is because the so-called  "morons" see Thais getting away with anything everyday of the week?

[Russell17au]

On 19/01/2018 at 11:37 AM, sanuk711 said:

I dont think they were diving Old Crock--They were "Harpooning fish",

(-Harpooning-A barbed spear attached to a rope and thrown or fired from a gun,) If they had been diving, I wouldn't think they could have been reported by --whoever, & these harpoons were DIY ones.

Although the boat they were in was chartered , so they dont say it came with an operator ..but they usually do in which case he should certainly shoulder some of the blame.

 

They were spearfishing= using a metal a single or multiple head spear fired from a rubber powered gun.

If you have a look at the pictures you will see the spearguns and spears plus the floats that they used and the weights and weight belts. You do not use that gear harpooning.

What they have been arrested for and charged with is undersize fish. The fish are protected under 50cm and they had fish under the legal size. You get caught in Australia with undersize fish and you end up in court no difference to here

[Russell17au]

24 minutes ago, Kiwisailor said:

And if you are a politician you check the corruption and asset disclosure laws ..... oops, sorry.  Pass go and pay 5,000 Baht.

You've been picking too many Ti-Toki berries

[Russell17au]

On 19/01/2018 at 2:08 PM, Maejo Man said:

So no photos of the undersized parrotfish? I real missed photo op for some wallopers!

Maybe the evidence was cooked and consumed already.

Here is the undersize fish, none of them are 50cm

[sanuk711]

14 hours ago, Old Croc said:

When you don't know what you're talking about it's usually a good idea to keep quiet.

These guys were diving or snorkeling (see the pic of the weight belts), and I'm fairly sure not one of them had a peg leg or the name Capt Ahab, nor were they harpooning from the bow of the longtail!

When you've spent as much of your life boating, fishing, diving and spearfishing as me you could then try the little lecture.

Incidentally, in nearly 13 years on this forum you are the 738th wit to spell my nik that way in a pathetic attempt to insult. 

Really Old Croc....what is that all about ?

 

For you to have this much aggression over a silly fishing thing.

Would you just look at the first line I wrote--" I dont think they were diving ".....No ones attacking you, just giving an opinion . Why not try to address people as you would if you were just sitting across from them. I can concede that I could be well wrong about all those Old age pensioners stripping off and diving--but 2 things led me to think they just speared them with their home made harpoons from the boat. 1/ * Police were alerted that the tourists were seen harpooning fish* Its possible that they saw them under the water or coming up. 2/ The Long tail boat they chartered is not the best type of boat to be climbing in and out of--But its possible they managed that.. They had pics of them on Channel 3,  not carrying any wet suite or weights...But its possible they were left in the boat.

All in all AC.... I am happy to concede that its quite possible I'm completely wrong

 

Oh *BTW...congratulations on you 13 years on the forum, about your name--I looked and then typed it wrong--Honestly it really is what happened... could it be that "Just" some of the other 738 people may have done the some thing ?

Watch the blood pressure mate , enjoy life in Thailand---all this is just small potatoes in the long run.

 

My parents spanked me as a child. I now suffer from a psychological condition known as ... "Respect for others"

 

[Old Croc]

If 

1 hour ago, sanuk711 said:

Really Old Croc....what is that all about ?

 

For you to have this much aggression over a silly fishing thing.

Would you just look at the first line I wrote--" I dont think they were diving ".....No ones attacking you, just giving an opinion . Why not try to address people as you would if you were just sitting across from them. I can concede that I could be well wrong about all those Old age pensioners stripping off and diving--but 2 things led me to think they just speared them with their home made harpoons from the boat. 1/ * Police were alerted that the tourists were seen harpooning fish* Its possible that they saw them under the water or coming up. 2/ The Long tail boat they chartered is not the best type of boat to be climbing in and out of--But its possible they managed that.. They had pics of them on Channel 3,  not carrying any wet suite or weights...But its possible they were left in the boat.

All in all AC.... I am happy to concede that its quite possible I'm completely wrong

 

Oh *BTW...congratulations on you 13 years on the forum, about your name--I looked and then typed it wrong--Honestly it really is what happened... could it be that "Just" some of the other 738 people may have done the some thing ?

Watch the blood pressure mate , enjoy life in Thailand---all this is just small potatoes in the long run.

 

My parents spanked me as a child. I now suffer from a psychological condition known as ... "Respect for others"

 

 

If you want to venture your strange opinions on a thread without receiving comment,  don't quote my post.

The fact that you think people can spear reef fish using spearguns from a boat shows your complete lack of knowledge of the subject and enforces my suggestion it would have been better that you didn't comment at all.

The fact that you chose to again lecture me on attitudes and tell me to watch my blood pressure shows a lack of respect (despite the message at the foot of your posts) and prevents me from believing the mis-spelling of my name was an error.

[Russell17au]

8 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

If 

If you want to venture your strange opinions on a thread without receiving comment,  don't quote my post.

The fact that you think people can spear reef fish using spearguns from a boat shows your complete lack of knowledge of the subject and enforces my suggestion it would have been better that you didn't comment at all.

The fact that you chose to again lecture me on attitudes and tell me to watch my blood pressure shows a lack of respect (despite the message at the foot of your posts) and prevents me from believing the mis-spelling of my name was an error.

Sorry Old Croc but you did exactly the same thing, You posted about the Russian woman and you were wrong because you did not keep up with the updates that showed why she was arrested.

As for this thread I would say that they were not diving as there has been no mention of scuba tanks, my guess would be that they were snorkeling and using their spearguns, it would not be impossible to use the spearguns from the deck of a boat, but it would be a big safety risk loading the rubber and it would not be very accurate because of the distortion of looking into the water. We could debate about knowledge of the subject but I looked at your post where you stated about all the years of boating, fishing, diving and snorkeling that you have done and that showed me an arrogance from you so I will tell you my experience the same as what you have stated, I to have had many years experience with boats, fishing at sea, snorkeling and diving, I spent 9 years as a clearance diver in the Royal Australian Navy and I received my PADI instructors Certificate in 1974 and I still hold it and I still dive. There is no need for this sort of rubbish on here.

[Old Croc]

3 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

Sorry Old Croc but you did exactly the same thing, You posted about the Russian woman and you were wrong because you did not keep up with the updates that showed why she was arrested.

As for this thread I would say that they were not diving as there has been no mention of scuba tanks, my guess would be that they were snorkeling and using their spearguns, it would not be impossible to use the spearguns from the deck of a boat, but it would be a big safety risk loading the rubber and it would not be very accurate because of the distortion of looking into the water. We could debate about knowledge of the subject but I looked at your post where you stated about all the years of boating, fishing, diving and snorkeling that you have done and that showed me an arrogance from you so I will tell you my experience the same as what you have stated, I to have had many years experience with boats, fishing at sea, snorkeling and diving, I spent 9 years as a clearance diver in the Royal Australian Navy and I received my PADI instructors Certificate in 1974 and I still hold it and I still dive. There is no need for this sort of rubbish on here.

I've noted you're a friend of the other character.

 

So for me to quote my experience is arrogance, but not in your case?

 

With all your experience you think it reasonable to load spearguns out of water and shoot them at fish from the deck of a boat! And with all this knowledge do you know the chances of spearing a fish from the surface. I'm not talking about pelagics or mammals, but reef fish. These guys must have been supermen to hit so many tusk fish this way.

You're friend's a big boy, albeit a little silly, let him fight his own battles.

[Russell17au]

14 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

I've noted you're a friend of the other character.

 

So for me to quote my experience is arrogance, but not in your case?

 

With all your experience you think it reasonable to load spearguns out of water and shoot them at fish from the deck of a boat! And with all this knowledge do you know the chances of spearing a fish from the surface. I'm not talking about pelagics or mammals, but reef fish. These guys must have been supermen to hit so many tusk fish this way.

You're friend's a big boy, albeit a little silly, let him fight his own battles.

See, you did not read my post.

This is a quote from my previous post

"it would not be impossible to use the spearguns from the deck of a boat, but it would be a big safety risk loading the rubber and it would not be very accurate because of the distortion of looking into the water."

Read my post

I quoted my experience because of the arrogant way that you responded to the other poster just to show you that you are not the only person that has experience and no one else has big noted themselves about experience until you did

Edited January 20, 2018 by Russell17au

[sanuk711]

1 hour ago, Old Croc said:

The fact that you think people can spear reef fish using spearguns

No where in any of my posts do I mention the use of a spear gun Old Croc...do you remember this line from my post----?

Quote

- but 2 things led me to think they just speared them with their home made harpoons from the boat

  Because someone may have agreed (ticked) my post on just this subject, doesn't make them a life long friend who is conspiring to get you. Please dont be silly about these things. This is just a forum where we put our views--if we all agreed there wouldn't be a need for it.

 

If you do not want to accept my apology for getting 1 letter wrong in your name in the original thread...so be it. I am not going to add to the thread any more--so you get the last word----

 

** But in a few weeks or so --the full story (of how they fished) is bound to unravel...so if I am wrong & all these pensioners donned wet suits & weight belts and dived overboard I will come back & apologise on this thread---( so if I miss it OC ...because I dont come on here so often--please PM me)

 

PS I am in my 70s O.C so saying watch your blood pressure , is something I say to a lot of acquaintances

[stevenl]

2 hours ago, Russell17au said:

Sorry Old Croc but you did exactly the same thing, You posted about the Russian woman and you were wrong because you did not keep up with the updates that showed why she was arrested.

As for this thread I would say that they were not diving as there has been no mention of scuba tanks, my guess would be that they were snorkeling and using their spearguns, it would not be impossible to use the spearguns from the deck of a boat, but it would be a big safety risk loading the rubber and it would not be very accurate because of the distortion of looking into the water. We could debate about knowledge of the subject but I looked at your post where you stated about all the years of boating, fishing, diving and snorkeling that you have done and that showed me an arrogance from you so I will tell you my experience the same as what you have stated, I to have had many years experience with boats, fishing at sea, snorkeling and diving, I spent 9 years as a clearance diver in the Royal Australian Navy and I received my PADI instructors Certificate in 1974 and I still hold it and I still dive. There is no need for this sort of rubbish on here.

Don't presume that with 'diving' 'scuba diving' is meant, as a scuba instructor you should know better.

[Old Croc]

On ‎1‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 11:20 AM, Old Croc said:

While a bit careless for bagging a protected species, kudos to these miscreants who are still able to dive/snorkel at an age when most of us can only reminisce. 

 

On ‎1‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 11:37 AM, sanuk711 said:

I dont think they were diving Old Crock--They were "Harpooning fish",

(-Harpooning-A barbed spear attached to a rope and thrown or fired from a gun,) If they had been diving, I wouldn't think they could have been reported by --whoever, & these harpoons were DIY ones.

Although the boat they were in was chartered , so they dont say it came with an operator ..but they usually do in which case he should certainly shoulder some of the blame.

 

So here's the initial posts that started this nonsense

I gave kudos to these old guys because they can still dive/snorkel at their age. A light hearted comment that attracted 16  reactions from members and one poster who took issue with my words "dive/snorkel" (I phrased it that way because I didn't know if they were free diving or using scuba.) I had already had a chuckle at the reporter who had described their activities as harpooning. I looked at the full article and accompanying pics to see what they had used to spear the fish. Home made spear guns.

Then along comes Mr sanuk who starts by calling me Old Crock (of shit) an insult used many times against me over the years. Then, taking the reporter as the authority, decides to lecture me on what harpooning is. Thinking he couldn't be serious I made the Capt Ahab jokes. At a  time when it may have been prudent to leave things as they were, he responded by calling me aggressive and made a remark about my blood pressure. Then another poster chipped in with his resume and tried to back up the harpooning from the boat theory!

Incidentally, I am also a qualified diver although I never felt the need to go on to instructor status.

My last word here.

[Scott]

Baiting, off-topic posts removed.   Continue at your own peril.  

[crazygreg44]

i dived with a local off Koh Lipe.  He used a simple selfmade slingshot with a short harpoon underwater . . . very effectively.

 

I remember he caught parrotfish, too

 

mai bpen rai

[observer90210]

Another lovely Phuket racket ?....how come the boat skipper was not aware of the law ?

 

Seems fishy that just by chance the police got the tipoff and of course the boat skipper is not an accomplice with whom the fine will be split !!

[stevenl]

50 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

Another lovely Phuket racket ?....how come the boat skipper was not aware of the law ?

 

Seems fishy that just by chance the police got the tipoff and of course the boat skipper is not an accomplice with whom the fine will be split !!

So you're saying the skipper knew in advance they were going to catch undersized fish.

[natway09]

Sorry, you can try & make excuses & compare but these elderly people should have known better

[tinca tinca]

On 1/19/2018 at 11:33 AM, Thaiwrath said:

As bad (and as old) as the famous Pattaya Bridge players !

Throw the book at them ! 

what happened to these NASTY BRIDGE PLAYERS....the story died a death......just like this one will !!

[stevenl]

17 minutes ago, tinca tinca said:

what happened to these NASTY BRIDGE PLAYERS....the story died a death......just like this one will !!

No, that story not 'died a death'. Do a search on the appropriate forum.