Four arrested for helping foreign tourists catch giant stingrays

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Four arrested for helping foreign tourists catch giant stingrays

By Kachon Phonimthai
The Nation

 

 

SAMUT SONGKHRAM: -- Four suspects have been arrested for allegedly helping foreign tourists catch rare giant freshwater stingrays in Samut Songkhram. Provincial regulations forbid catching the fish unless it is for research purposes.

 

The suspects were arrested on Monday after the officers from relevant agencies in Amphawa District investigated reports from local people who saw live broadcasts on Facebook.

 

Samut Songkhram Provincial Governor Khanchat Tansathian said he ordered the Provincial Fisheries Office to file a complaint against the four suspects at Amphawa Police Station. He said the people at Samut Songkhram cherish and want to save the endangered giant freshwater stingray.

 

The four men did not have a valid boat driving licence, the boat was not registered with the Marine Department, and there was illegal fishing equipment on the boat, police said. Three of them had traces of amphetamine in their urine.

 

One of the suspects said that they were hired by another man called “Boy” to organise the fishing trip for foreign tourists to catch giant freshwater stingray. They claimed that they had permission to catch the stingray for research purposes.

 

However, officers found that the permission that the suspects claimed they had expired in November 2016.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30319425

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-06-29

[Get Real]

This time I am sure they gonna charge the boat for this hideous crime.

[yellowboat]

How barbaric.  These are rare and endangered animals and need to be left alone.  The foreigners need to be put on a plane and told never to return.  What idiots. 

[Cadbury]

1 minute ago, yellowboat said:

How barbaric.  These are rare and endangered animals and need to be left alone.  The foreigners need to be put on a plane and told never to return.  What idiots. 

I see the brave macho tourist is protected from any danger by having the lethal spike in the tail taped down. 

[Roger Harris]

Another quality tourist, lock them up, and then deport them

[Bluespunk]

Pesky foreigners...

[The Deerhunter]

1 hour ago, yellowboat said:

How barbaric.  These are rare and endangered animals and need to be left alone.  The foreigners need to be put on a plane and told never to return.  What idiots. 

After a token month or two on remand in "The Hilton."

[mikecha]

Thaught the lesson was learnt  thear when Steve   got caught and died 

 

Why do people think they can do all here 

never look at papers saying it is ok 

then they complain that all is no good here in LOS 

but realy  think they sould be told to leave Politely or with like move and quick   very silly people just for the sake of catching   this of course will be cooked and eaten not let go again  what a great pity  such gracefull animal  .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[nausea]

As regards the foreigners, I would say someone's been reading too much Hemmingway. Sorry guys, you're 50 years out of date, this sort of stuff is no longer considered "manly". As for the locals, the "research purposes" licensing system sounds dodgy, more like a  cash generation scheme. OK, their licence is out of date, but how did they get hold of one in the first place. For what supposed  purpose? What scientific organisation do they supposedly represent? Those are rhetorical questions.

[KhaoNiaw]

Quote

 He said the people at Samut Songkhram cherish and want to save the endangered giant freshwater stingray.

 

The four men did not have a valid boat driving licence, the boat was not registered with the Marine Department, and there was illegal fishing equipment on the boat, police said. Three of them had traces of amphetamine in their urine.

Just pass a f***ing law that says catching these beautiful fish is illegal instead of trying to get them on something else. I've seen on it on TV before. If it's not illegal to catch these fish it should be.

[srchino]

The real crime here is that these a-holes were issued a "research" permit in the first place, expired or not.

I would like to pay for a legitimate hunting experience, of those tourists....

[fruitman]

11 hours ago, Cadbury said:

I see the brave macho tourist is protected from any danger by having the lethal spike in the tail taped down. 

Are these stingrays poisonous as well on their sting?

[observer90210]

Just jail for a few days, deport and ban entry to such tourists who behave like scum and give a disgraceful image of farangs in the country.

[Cadbury]

4 hours ago, fruitman said:

Are these stingrays poisonous as well on their sting?

Not sure. The barb doesn't necessarily have to be poisonous to be lethal.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/steve-irwin-killed-by-stingray/2006/09/04/1157222051512.html

[fruitman]

23 minutes ago, Cadbury said:

Not sure. The barb doesn't necessarily have to be poisonous to be lethal.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/steve-irwin-killed-by-stingray/2006/09/04/1157222051512.html

I always thought those stingers were venomous. They are very dangerous anyway.

 

[rickudon]

First, a few points. These giant stingrays are found in the brackish water of large rivers in SE Asia, The biggest danger to them is pollution or accidental capture in fishing nets. The fish have no real commercial value outside of angling. Those fish caught on rod and line are all returned alive, few die. Angling gives this species a commercial value, otherwise no one would care, as they would never be seen - except when dead as the rivers they live in are very turbid so would never be seen normally. 

 

As a relatively rare species, fishing for them does need to be regulated, and collecting data from them when caught IS useful for research purposes, little is known about their life cycle. I guess that when the licence for this boat was not renewed, the people kept offering fishing trips - it was a good source of income for them. Just the usual Thai lack of enforcement of regulations or locals adherence to them. This species has been a niche angling experience for the last 20 years at least. Adverts for this fishing is still common and easily found on the internet (just checked, still advertised), I am sure it is not usually illegal. If it is, maybe they should tell the  fishing tour operators!

 

If it wasn't for Angling, 2 of the other large species in Thailand, the Giant Siamese carp and the Mekong catfish would already be extinct. Both these species are bred in captivity for restocking purposes - commercial fishing pressure, pollution and environmental changes have reduced their numbers to practically zero in the wild. Unfortunately, several other species have become extinct already. Once the many Mekong dams are built, many more species will be endangered as the fish will be cut off from their spawning grounds.

 

 

 

 

[Rhys]

What happened to the Tourist?

 

[rickudon]

Nothing i expect. Only the boat didn't have a licence to operate, i think. Also they are probably long gone.