Patrols help curb illegal trawling

PHUKET CITY: The number of fishing boats illegally trawling within Phuket’s three-kilometer exclusion zone has been greatly reduced thanks to stepped up patrols by authorities and good co-operation from local fishermen, the local Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) office has announced.

Paitoon Panchaiyapoom, chief of the DMCR Region 4 Office in Phuket, said there have been just three arrests for trawling within the exclusion zone since nightly patrols by DMCR officers began at the beginning of 2008.

“We still get complaints from the local fishermen at Bangtao and Maikhao beaches that there is some illegal fishing going on, but there are no reports of trawling further south along Patong and Karon-Kata beaches thanks to the good co-operation between locals there and DMCR officers,” he said.

Most of the violators are from other provinces, he added.

Despite the sharp decrease in illegal trawling, the DMCR will continue its patrols, he said.