Phuket restaurant managers arrested for selling parrotfish
There’s been another parrotfish incident in Thailand, this time in Phuket. Three restaurant managers on the island province have been busted for selling parrotfish, a protected animal in Thailand.
Officers inspected restaurants in Karon on Tuesday and Wednesday. The three restaurants inspected were Chic Restaurant, found with nine parrotfish, Bounty Seafood, found with five parrotfish, and Ton Tan Seafood, found with two parrotfish.
The three managers were taken to Karon Police Station and charged accordingly, the report said.
The team that inspected the restaurants included officers from the Ministry of Natural Resources Crime Suppression Division, and the Thai Muang Marine Fisheries Crime Prevention and Suppression Unit in Phang Nga, The Phuket Express reported.
The three restaurant managers aren’t the only people guilty of crimes involving parrotfish in Thailand this year. In August, a Dutchman was caught parrotfishing in Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park in Krabi province.
A TikTok video clip of the man emerged on social media with three parrotfishes, one moray eel, and two other unidentified fish. Netizens slammed the man, stating his actions are against the law and were destroying the marine ecosystem.
It was reported that if caught, the man would face a five-year prison sentence and a 20,000 baht fine.
Following the outrage, the man posted a message on TikTok insisting he didn’t know he couldn’t fish at the park, and that he was deeply sorry.
The man was later caught and detained by police in Phuket. He was identified as Roslan Benedia.
Parrotfish are a keystone species in Thailand, a species considered so important to the nation’s particular ecosystem that its loss or number depletion will have a heavy impact or even cause a total breakdown. This is because parrotfish help corals stay healthy by eating algae and seaweed.
There have been a few high-profile cases of crimes involving parrotfish in Thailand, but luckily, the fish are still pretty common in Phuket’s reefs.
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