FISHED OUT
Phuket Gazette– July 8, 2016
Andaman Fishing Stocks depleted? Why?
Weather
Overfishing
Pollution
Large Area closed to fishing between Phuket and Trang.
Closure from 1 April to 30 June
Spawning season during this time
Important for fish population sustainability
BUT, opening day on 1 July show low yields and undersized fish
Thailand’s Fishing Industry
Employs 300,000 workers
Contributes over $3 billion in exports to GDP
GDP = means Gross Domestic Product
GDP is a statistic used in economics to measure the amount of goods produced within the domestic markets of each country
Fishing has been getting worse for several years now, not just this year.
Many fishing companies are still trying to recover from the 2004 tsunami and its’ impacts
20-30% of local fisherman have gone into bankruptcy
Weather factors to fishing success
Better fishing in El Nino years (drier than normal conditions)
Fish are more scarce in La Nina years (wetter that normal years)
El Nino this year with stronger storms that stir up the ocean floor and making fishing much harder
Hotels and Tourism have increased immensely along our shorelines
10 times increase over the last 30 years
Fisherman claim hotel pollution and human waste is impacting plankton
Mr. Somyos, President of the Phuket Fishing Association
He believes government officials should spend time limiting the pollution and waste coming from hotel businesses, instead of limiting fishing seasons or restricting numbers of fisherman.
Does your group agree? Why or why not?