Sharks being fished out of existence in Thai waters

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Sharks being fished out of existence in Thai waters

 

Picture: Thai Rath

 

PHUKET: -- An experienced diver has lamented that the only sharks he sees these days are on the fish market slabs.

 

And he went on Facebook to say how upset he was with the situation about the dwindling marine life in Thailand.

 

Thai Rath reported that diver Saranyu Pinjaroen posted pictures on the social media site that showed him looking at piles of sharks - some rare in Thai waters - readied for sale in Ratsada, Muang district of Phuket.

 

Saranyu commented: "Very Sad. Out diving you hardly see them any more - this is one of the only places where you do".

 

He was squatting next to gutted sharks ready to go to the table.

 

Thai Rath said that two of the species were Tiger Shark that are now rare in Thai waters and Black Tip Reef Sharks whose numbers are decreasing at an increasing rate.

 

Source: Thai Rath

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-08-17

[Oziex1]

Wow, they have respect for the sharks by pixelating the faces until NOK are informed of their deaths?

[Regyai]

On the other hand the two legged species continue to propagate

[hansnl]

One might be lead to think the Thai people and government are not very much interested in nature?

 

[LivinginKata]

2 minutes ago, hansnl said:

One might be lead to think the Thai people and government are not very much interested in nature?

 

 

You would be correct - only interested in the almighty Baht ...

[stevenl]

Unfortunately very much true.

 

In the past we'd see leopard (zebra) sharks at Shark Point every dive, these days maybe once a month if we're very lucky. Still quite a few blacktips at Phi Phi Ley wall, and at Koh Bida Nok, but also that is getting more hit and miss than it used to be.

[zyphodb]

Sad to say, but does this surprise anyone in a country where making money trumps anything else?

 As far as the fishermen go who are catching them their attitude will be, well if I don't catch them, someone else will, & sadly, they'd almost certainly be right.....

[yellowboat]

2 hours ago, hansnl said:

One might be lead to think the Thai people and government are not very much interested in nature?

 

No.  They are interested in money.  If tourists were to boycott Thailand over such encroachments, their would an A44 mandate issued at blinding speed.  Elephants are not really loved either.  Farmers think of them as pests.   

[sandrabbit]

11 minutes ago, yellowboat said:

Elephants are not really loved either.  Farmers think of them as pests.

The thing that surprised me about Thailand is the lack of birds of prey like buzzards & kites which are extremely common in India, I presume the farmers have poisoned them much the same as it used to be in the UK.

[atyclb]

having lived and surfed in hawaii i cant exactly break out into tears over the tiger sharks gone.

[puipuitom]

An Asian, who gives a damn about the environment, is not born yet.

[Chpied]

Sad to say, but does this surprise anyone in a country where making money trumps anything else?
 As far as the fishermen go who are catching them their attitude will be, well if I don't catch them, someone else will, & sadly, they'd almost certainly be right.....

Yes I agree sadly a classic case of " tragedy of the commons".

Back in 2015 the EU put Thailand on notice to clean up and regulate there fishing industry, a yellow card so to speak.

If they don't show signs of conforming they faced a ban on fishing exports, the English consume around €153 million of Thai fish exports per year.

I do remember last year seeing the Prime Minister on Tv, he was trying to explain to the fishing villages that although they have been fishing with no limits for generations, that if they don't conform and regulate the industry, they will all miss out and be red carded from EU exports.

I'm sure a very tough challenge but one I hope Thailand embraces and sees the need of sustainable fisheries for there own futures.

Education, Education, Education is the key, if they don't buy in and understand the long term ramifications, then in most cases there isn't a reversal to stocks once depleted.

[Elkski]

Sea life and reef condition as well as dive satisfaction was very low in Thailand. Big dissapointment.  I dove 2 days near phuket and two at phi Phi. 

[NamKangMan]

This article is focusing on sharks, but I'm quite sure they are not the only species being fished out. 

 

I would say it's happening across a wide range of marine species. 

 

What has happened, and continues to happen on Phuket, reminds me of this famous saying:

 

"When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then you will discover you can not eat money." 

[petedk]

I read a couple of years ago that a live shark brings in far more money in the long run, in form of scuba diving income than a dead shark used for shark fin soup.

 

Yes, diving in Thailand will slowly disappear as divers go to other destinations.

[oldlakey]

5 minutes ago, petedk said:

I read a couple of years ago that a live shark brings in far more money in the long run, in form of scuba diving income than a dead shark used for shark fin soup.

 

Yes, diving in Thailand will slowly disappear as divers go to other destinations.

We are not talking the same people here though are we, its a case of every man for himself 

Edited August 17, 2017 by oldlakey

[sandrabbit]

50 minutes ago, oldlakey said:

We are not talking the same people here though are we, its a case of every man for himself 

The Irish did the same with atlantic salmon putting drift nets across the migration routes

[Lupatria]

6 hours ago, hansnl said:

One might be lead to think the Thai people and government are not very much interested in nature?

 

Oh yes they are just ask fish feeding Russian Olga.

[whaleboneman]

3 hours ago, puipuitom said:

An Asian, who gives a damn about the environment, is not born yet.

 Saranyu Pinjaroen , the subject of this story, has been born and is apparently Asian.

[Oziex1]

9 hours ago, atyclb said:

having lived and surfed in hawaii i cant exactly break out into tears over the tiger sharks gone.

The sharks are an important species in the oceans complex eco system you and your stupid board are not.

[wakeupplease]

7 hours ago, NamKangMan said:

This article is focusing on sharks, but I'm quite sure they are not the only species being fished out. 

 

I would say it's happening across a wide range of marine species. 

 

What has happened, and continues to happen on Phuket, reminds me of this famous saying:

 

"When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then you will discover you can not eat money." 

The rivers and pools are the same, the only exception are the fishing pools where some kind of care exists

[observer90210]

Sorry to my environmental friends,.... but I will be the last one to cry if sharks and snakes are erradicated from the equation.

[hotchilli]

While I don't condone the over fishing of any species at least they take the whole fish & use it all..

ie not just remove the fins and throw the body back...

Take a look at what Taiwan is doing with sharks....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SAkq6lsnoE

 

[huuwi]

41 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

While I don't condone the over fishing of any species at least they take the whole fish & use it all..

ie not just remove the fins and throw the body back...

Take a look at what Taiwan is doing with sharks....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SAkq6lsnoE

 

and most of the people dont know that phuket has about 200+ of these taiwanese longliners here, operating out of phuket port year around.

[oldlakey]

7 hours ago, sandrabbit said:

The Irish did the same with atlantic salmon putting drift nets across the migration routes

Sharks fin soup is a deep rooted Chinese cultural thing

Out of dozens of Chinese weddings I have attended only one that did not serve Sharks fin soup by choice

One enlightened bride out of dozens, a few others were for economic reasons even though the guests pay for the meal with the Ang Pows / Red packets but it did not cover the alcohol

Some wont stop until they have to as in no more sharks

Sharks fin are on display /  sale all over the shant its sold hand in hand with birds nest soup, like it or not thats the way it is

Local fishermen will get very little from the obscene  value of what they catch

As for what the Irish and Spanish did in the North Atlantic that was just Stupid and greedy not for survival

 

[deecfc67]

11 hours ago, atyclb said:

having lived and surfed in hawaii i cant exactly break out into tears over the tiger sharks gone.

So in your opinion, indigenous marine life should be eradicated to facilitate your leisure activities?

If that's the case then you're part of the problem...!!

[deecfc67]

2 hours ago, observer90210 said:

Sorry to my environmental friends,.... but I will be the last one to cry if sharks and snakes are erradicated from the equation.

Then I seriously hope you have no chance of passing on your genes.

"Ignorant" doesn't even begin to sum up your opinion!

[JAS21]

I wish the locals ate jellyfish ..

[zyphodb]

13 hours ago, sandrabbit said:

The thing that surprised me about Thailand is the lack of birds of prey like buzzards & kites which are extremely common in India, I presume the farmers have poisoned them much the same as it used to be in the UK.

I think you'd find, in Isaan anyway, they mostly shoot and eat them...

[Soupdragon]

15 hours ago, stevenl said:

Unfortunately very much true.

 

In the past we'd see leopard (zebra) sharks at Shark Point every dive, these days maybe once a month if we're very lucky. Still quite a few blacktips at Phi Phi Ley wall, and at Koh Bida Nok, but also that is getting more hit and miss than it used to be.

I worked on Phi Phi and sold dives on a 'see sharks' or your money back guarantee. That sales pitch lasted a year before I had to stop as it started costing me money. The numbers on Phi Phi Ley Wall had plummeted.

 

At that time (2000-2004) every big restaurant on Phi Phi had a shark on ice out front.  We tried to stop this and printed fliers explaining what was happening to the local shark populations and handed them out to tourists and put them on trees around the island.  A few guys got threatened by restaurant owners and as fast as we put the fliers up they were torn down so we had to stop.  Soon the size of the sharks in the restaurants got smaller and smaller until the only ones on display were juveniles but still they didn't stop killing them.  Very frustrating.