Hold tourists and guides responsible for coral damage, says Phuket poll

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Hold tourists and guides responsible for coral damage, says Phuket poll

The Phuket News

 

Heavy tourism traffic has caused much damage to the coral reefs at Racha Yai Island, south of Phuket. Photo: DMCR

 

PHUKET: -- A clear majority of respondents to a recent online poll by The Phuket News has seen call for both the tourists themselves and their tour guides be charged for damaging coral where their activities have caused obvious harm to the key tourist eco-attractions in the region.

 

The question came to the fore after coral preservation efforts at key tourist dive sites and coral reef attractions for day-trippers in and around Phuket were ramped up to the ridiculous and shift target from the tourists themselves to the tour guides and tour companies that lead them.

 

The drive began in earnest in late January, when officials from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) Phuket office posted signs at Koh Racha Yai’s three main bays warning tour guides and tourists of the consequences of breaking marine conservation rules.

 

After a couple of “misunderstandings”, Chinese tourist Huang Yongjia, 35, was caught with two baby Parrotfish in a plastic bottle and was charged and fined B100,000 for his infraction. 

 

Officials tried the same with 53-year-old Russian tourist Olga Smirnova, but as she did not have the B100,000, she spent two nights in police lockup while awaiting trial for feeding bread to fish at Racha Yai.

 

Full story: http://www.thephuketnews.com/hold-tourists-and-guides-responsible-for-coral-damage-says-phuket-poll-61741.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2017-04-10

[rebo]

Yeah, Thai officals can become very strict when it comes to the grabbing of B100000 environmental issues ... 

[jonclark]

Fully agree that those that damage the environment should be held financially accountable.

With that thought in mind how about making the locals accounta le for them vast amount of waste that they produce that damages the coral reefs and food chains. Or that not fair?

 

[Felt 35]

....of course...the autoritets which allow different kinds of businesses to operate on a once tropical island, an island which logically will need more environmental care than a city as Bangkok is not to blame at all........

 

 

 

[ExpatOilWorker]

The corals will soon be gone unless they stop using the ocean as a big septic tank.

 

 

[dageurreotype]

2 hours ago, Felt 35 said:

....of course...the autoritets which allow different kinds of businesses to operate on a once tropical island, an island which logically will need more environmental care than a city as Bangkok is not to blame at all........

 

 

 

This is of course the bleeding obvious but in a country where no on takes the blame for anything themselves don't expect this idiocy to change. First we'll go after the 'foreigner', then more pressure results in 'better include the greedy tour guides, even though they're Thai', but leave those of us in the government administration department out of it because, well we guvunmen'! Muppets.