Thai fishermen launch project in desperate bid to boost fish population

[webfact]

Fishermen launch project in desperate bid to boost fish population
VISARUT SANKHAM
THE NATION



BANGKOK: -- FISHERMEN have planted in the sea an artificial reef with 97 tonnes of coconut leaves, braided ropes and concrete pillars off the eastern province of Rayong early this month in a bid to raise the fish population, which has slumped following a massive oil spill off Koh Samet two years ago.

In what has been dubbed the biggest joint operation between the Rayong fishermen and their allies, they have embarked on a project to build "fish houses" along a 100-kilometre stretch of the Rayong coast. The fishermen raised the budget themselves to buy the materials for the makeshift "fish houses", which contain baby fish that are supposed to boost the fish population.

The fish houses will look like trees under water and the concrete pillars will hold them in place. A batch of makeshift "fish houses" were lowered into the sea on October 23 at the Rayong Fisheries Association's centre in tambon Ta Pong in Muang district. The fishermen picked that auspicious date, which was a national holiday to commemorate the passing away of King Rama V, to bring their cause more luck. This period is also known as the fish egg-laying season.

Although two years have passed since the oil spill, the fishermen around Rayong Bay insisted its effects still linger and can be seen in their daily lives.

Things were particularly bad for several local fishermen whose catch shrunk and their income dramatically lowered to the point where they had to sell their fishing boats, according to local fisherman Veerasak Kongnanong.

Before the oil spill, each fisherman could expect to catch at least 30 kilograms of healthy fish per day, but now they are lucky to catch five kilograms, Veerasak said.

Another local fisherman, Arkom Keamglang, said he had to venture further away from his usual area, which ran out of fish. He tried many new places like Khao Munnok, Bang Saray, Khao Sam Roi Yot and Khao Talu. However, he couldn't afford to pay for the oil to take his trawler that far that often, he said. In one week, he can go fishing only a couple of days and sometimes all he catches are small mackerel.

"After the oil spill, there was no agency to take care of us. Sometimes I feel like we are not even humans in their eyes. Since 2013, I have lost more than Bt100,000 in expenses to maintain my fishery activities and now I have no money left for my son's tuition," he said.

Naowarat Tuphucha, a fisheries worker and shrimp paste maker, concurred that the fish supply has dropped rapidly in the past couple of years. She said sergestid shrimp, the main ingredient for shrimp paste, was also gone, so she has to go 130 kilometres to buy the shrimp in Chanthaburi province.

"We have been suffering for more than two years, and nothing seems to be better. We don't even know when it is going to be better, so now the best thing we can do is to try fixing the damage by ourselves and hope it would get better soon," she added.

Local fisherman Sunt Kemjarun lamented the fact that his life has not been the same since the oil spill because he can't fish in the same area. He can't even venture further out to sea because it's not worth it. Even though he is suffering a loss, people of his age cannot just change jobs.

Meanwhile, many fishermen have sold their boats and shifted to other ways of making a living. Many families have also developed related problems such as family disunity because they had to change occupations and some family members had to move to the city.

Despite the efforts of the vil

lagers to get related agencies to tackle the issues and punish those responsible, no progress has been made.

The Rayong fishermen have asked the provincial governor to shut down the bay area for three months, starting from September to November, to give nature a chance to heal itself.

In the hope of getting their lives back to normal as soon as possible, the fishermen have gathered to build these "fish houses", made from nature and using materials such as coconut leaves and tied ropes.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Fishermen-launch-project-in-desperate-bid-to-boost-30271580.html


-- The Nation 2015-10-26

[ClutchClark]

It was destructive fishing practices that destroyed fish populations before the oil spill even occured.

The fisherman have only themselves to blame.

[jaidam]

What they are building are essentially fish traps. They are beneficial for fish populations in the same way that adventurous and hungry Dutchies abroad in the olden days were beneficial for the Dodo population. Anchoring the structure to a movable concrete pillar allows one boat to encircle the structure with a large net while another boat pulls the structure away and the net can close - trapping every single living creature within a 500m radius of the structure. This is primarily done at night with the aid of lights to further concentrate the fishes. Catastrophic for fish populations.

Permanent reefs would be a better solution - if the goal is to improve fish stocks and create suitable habitats. Concrete blocks, train carriages, whatever. Something that can not be moved away to allow a successful netting operation. But then , the goal is probably maximizing revenue in the shortest time possible, with no thought for the future.

Visarut, you should be ashamed at having written such nonsense.

edit to add, an EU ban of Thai seafood is the only potential silver lining I can see, as regards the local fish stocks and future thereof.

Edited October 25, 2015 by jaidam

[NongKhaiKid]

It was destructive fishing practices that destroyed fish populations before the oil spill even occured.

The fisherman have only themselves to blame.

Yes but HAS TO BE the fault of something or someone else.

[chrisrazz]

Destruction of mangrove, (the natural spawning ground of many fish species), for prawn farming, combined with the prawn farm effluent has devastated fish stocks.

[Laughing Gravy]

Too little too late. It is over fishing and as usual having no hindsight of the consequences. The typical Trait often seen here of waiting until its too late requiring drastic measures. It will fail like other 'too late projects'.

[aussieinthailand]

When was the last time you walked into a fish market and DIDN'T see trays full of very under size crab & fish of every kind?

Educate the public to undersize catch and it's impact on the fish stocks and then ENFORCE legal size limits on catch.

Forget the bloody submarine's and fund Active fish stock breeding in universities for the future so education of the young in environmental studies and aqua culture best practices and doing something about it NOW not setting up endless committee's and more people will give you a chance...

[ClutchClark]

What they are building are essentially fish traps. They are beneficial for fish populations in the same way that adventurous and hungry Dutchies abroad in the olden days were beneficial for the Dodo population. Anchoring the structure to a movable concrete pillar allows one boat to encircle the structure with a large net while another boat pulls the structure away and the net can close - trapping every single living creature within a 500m radius of the structure. This is primarily done at night with the aid of lights to further concentrate the fishes. Catastrophic for fish populations.

Permanent reefs would be a better solution - if the goal is to improve fish stocks and create suitable habitats. Concrete blocks, train carriages, whatever. Something that can not be moved away to allow a successful netting operation. But then , the goal is probably maximizing revenue in the shortest time possible, with no thought for the future.

Visarut, you should be ashamed at having written such nonsense.

edit to add, an EU ban of Thai seafood is the only potential silver lining I can see, as regards the local fish stocks and future thereof.

Amazing!

I never even considered this possibility--I wrongfully assumed the author had been describing a permanent artificial reef type structure.

Thanks for clarifying!

Edited October 26, 2015 by ClutchClark

[Balance]

It was destructive fishing practices that destroyed fish populations before the oil spill even occured.

The fisherman have only themselves to blame.

Yes to your point about the role of destructive fishing practices. However, I saw one ray of hope in the reporting that the fisherman had asked to governor to shut down the bay for 3 months.

What the fisherman desperately right now is credible scientific information that is understandable. Setting aside the oil spill, somehow they need to given information that will make them aware of what sustainable fishing is and what they have to do and what they can expect.

If possible, fishing industry leaders (fisherman) from other countries should be found and brought to Thailand to help with this educational effort: There is nothing that will help more than hearing directly from people who have a stake and lived what the Thai fishermen are living about where they started, what they have done, how long it took, and what the results were in terms of sustainable harvest numbers.

There is also a huge about of information on the internet in languages other than Thai. The local universities should help with finding relevant information and translating it.

It the fisherman of Rayong can build and deploy fishhouses themselves they can do a lot more.

[ClutchClark]

It was destructive fishing practices that destroyed fish populations before the oil spill even occured.

The fisherman have only themselves to blame.

Yes to your point about the role of destructive fishing practices. However, I saw one ray of hope in the reporting that the fisherman had asked to governor to shut down the bay for 3 months.

What the fisherman desperately right now is credible scientific information that is understandable. Setting aside the oil spill, somehow they need to given information that will make them aware of what sustainable fishing is and what they have to do and what they can expect.

If possible, fishing industry leaders (fisherman) from other countries should be found and brought to Thailand to help with this educational effort: There is nothing that will help more than hearing directly from people who have a stake and lived what the Thai fishermen are living about where they started, what they have done, how long it took, and what the results were in terms of sustainable harvest numbers.

There is also a huge about of information on the internet in languages other than Thai. The local universities should help with finding relevant information and translating it.

It the fisherman of Rayong can build and deploy fishhouses themselves they can do a lot more.

Call me a cynic but I am guessing there is more to this 3-month moratorium request than meets the eye.

Is the tourist high season starting? Do these fisherman quit fishing and focus on shuttling tourists around at this time of year? If so, then preventing others from fishing during their absence would be more the motivation.

I am not sure I have ever seen a Thai motivated to make a personal financial sacrafice for the benefit of others.

[Thian]

Some years ago i saw a documentary on tv about sandstorms in Australia.

They found out that when the high-iron red sand from the desert was blown into the sea the plankton there started growing massively.

More plankton means more food for sealife means more fish.

Since then i never heard about it again.

[Litlos]

To be fair I seem to recall PTT using dispersant on the oil spill at Rayong. Nasty stuff that causes the oil to sink. Great for visual effect, but merely hides one problem and creates new ones. One of the least recommended strategies for oil spill response.

However the oil was probably just the final straw on an overworked eco system after years of effluent inflow, who knows what from Mapthaphut industrial estate and overfishing.

Cheers

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

I am surprised they haven't decided to use the slaves as an artificial reef.

Could it possibly be an out of control fishing fleet fueled by greed that has decimated their fish stocks?

Try proper management and proper enforcement, seems to work in many other countries.

If that fails maybe they could line up a bunch of boats on the chaopraya and use their propellers to push all the fish into the ocean?

Will be just about as successful as what they are currently trying.

[Chupup]

" I can only go fishing about two times a week now, and when i do i only catch SMALL mackerel " ( so i take them instead of returning them to grow bigger and spawn more fish ) under size fish prawns crabs are all taken, is it any wonder that stocks are depleted, all the signs were there but as usual were just ignored, not the oil spill although that didn't help but over fishing and Greed and now they cry Foul

[ratcatcher]

Fishermen launch project in desperate bid to boost fish population.

They agree to reduce the fleet to half its present level for two years.

[ClutchClark]

Over exploitation of finite marine resources is not limited to Thailand. Every country with a coastline has done the same thing in recent history--the US no exception.

The problem is that the only remedy is regulation.

Well, more specifically, the problem in Thailand is a complete disregard for regulations, an absence of enforcement and a disregard for any type of conservation effort.

The combination of the above will most certainly result in even greater absence of fish stock in the future.

Catastrophic consequences await.

[ClutchClark]

Fishermen launch project in desperate bid to boost fish population.

They agree to reduce the fleet to half its present level for two years.

Limited Entry fisheries is one method of conservation but it requires an enforcement division and any lottery system would most definitely be plagued by corruption.

Then there is the issue of non-Thai fishing boats continuing to sneak into Thai waters without penalty while Thai fisherman are forced to sit on the beach.

Nope, we will see a catastrophic depletion of marine resources within a decade or two.

Eat all the sushi you can today because it won't be a menu item for much longer ;-)

[Thai at Heart]

To be fair I seem to recall PTT using dispersant on the oil spill at Rayong. Nasty stuff that causes the oil to sink. Great for visual effect, but merely hides one problem and creates new ones. One of the least recommended strategies for oil spill response.

However the oil was probably just the final straw on an overworked eco system after years of effluent inflow, who knows what from Mapthaphut industrial estate and overfishing.

Cheers

Most dispersant are just high strength dish washing liquid.....

[Litlos]

To be fair I seem to recall PTT using dispersant on the oil spill at Rayong. Nasty stuff that causes the oil to sink. Great for visual effect, but merely hides one problem and creates new ones. One of the least recommended strategies for oil spill response.

However the oil was probably just the final straw on an overworked eco system after years of effluent inflow, who knows what from Mapthaphut industrial estate and overfishing.

Cheers

Most dispersant are just high strength dish washing liquid.....

High strength dish washing liquid eh, really.

My knowledge on dispersants was during internationally recognised oil spill response training, so not easy to quote.

But from Wikipedia which seems fairly accurate "An oil dispersant is a mixture of surfactants and solvents that helps break oil into small droplets following an oil spill. Small droplets are easier to disperse throughout a water volume, and small droplets may be more readily biodegraded by microbes. Dispersant use involves a trade-off between exposing coastal life to surface oil and exposing aquatic life to dispersed oil. While submerging the oil with dispersant may lessen exposure to marine life on the surface, it increases exposure for animals dwelling underwater, who may be harmed by toxicity of both dispersed oil and dispersant.^[1][2][3] Although dispersant reduces the amount of oil that lands ashore, it may allow faster, deeper penetration of oil into coastal terrain, where it is not easily biodegraded.^[4]"

Use Google or whatever and search for oil spill dispersant toxicity, long term effect, negative consequences etc

Basically oil dispersant should be used as a last resort to stop oil hitting the coastline or other sensitive areas. The politicians love it because the problem quickly disappears, hence why it is used. As the spill response was probably organised by PTT I am sure world best practices were used.

Cheers

[Thai at Heart]

To be fair I seem to recall PTT using dispersant on the oil spill at Rayong. Nasty stuff that causes the oil to sink. Great for visual effect, but merely hides one problem and creates new ones. One of the least recommended strategies for oil spill response.

However the oil was probably just the final straw on an overworked eco system after years of effluent inflow, who knows what from Mapthaphut industrial estate and overfishing.

Cheers

Most dispersant are just high strength dish washing liquid.....

High strength dish washing liquid eh, really.

My knowledge on dispersants was during internationally recognised oil spill response training, so not easy to quote.

But from Wikipedia which seems fairly accurate "An oil dispersant is a mixture of surfactants and solvents that helps break oil into small droplets following an oil spill. Small droplets are easier to disperse throughout a water volume, and small droplets may be more readily biodegraded by microbes. Dispersant use involves a trade-off between exposing coastal life to surface oil and exposing aquatic life to dispersed oil. While submerging the oil with dispersant may lessen exposure to marine life on the surface, it increases exposure for animals dwelling underwater, who may be harmed by toxicity of both dispersed oil and dispersant.^[1][2][3] Although dispersant reduces the amount of oil that lands ashore, it may allow faster, deeper penetration of oil into coastal terrain, where it is not easily biodegraded.^[4]"

Use Google or whatever and search for oil spill dispersant toxicity, long term effect, negative consequences etc

Basically oil dispersant should be used as a last resort to stop oil hitting the coastline or other sensitive areas. The politicians love it because the problem quickly disappears, hence why it is used. As the spill response was probably organised by PTT I am sure world best practices were used.

Cheers

The toxicity isn't a massive issue in comparison with having oil sloshing around in the environment.

They are surfactants. What are household cleaners? Surfactants. Many of the chemical found in most dispersant are in household cleaners but in diluted form.

If the slick isn't split into droplets to allow bacterial action and weathering, the oil stays around in the environment infinitely longer and turn to tar balls which are very slow to degrade at all. In warm seas like Thailand degradation by using dispersant is a good practice, along with picking up as much as is practical.