More fishing but fewer fish

PHUKET TOWN: The number of illegal alien workers on fishing boats in the Andaman Sea was increasing at the same time as vital marine stocks were being depleted, said Vice-Admiral Pairoj Theerachai of the Royal Navy Third Fleet. Fishing boats were using large illegal gill nets that diminished fish resources and also trapped and killed other marine animals, he explained today at a press conference at the Thavorn Grand Plaza Hotel. He said the number of alien fishermen in Phuket had risen beyond 5,000 – which meant about 2,500 did not have licenses. Action would be taken against them if they did not register with the immigration office by the end of this month, he said. Somyod Wongboonyakul, Chairman of the Phuket Fishermen’s Association, said that the weather had contributed to a decline in low-season conditions of the seas off Phuket. He blamed changes in atmospheric patterns during the monsoon season for rougher seas and less rain over the past three or four years.