Phuket Fishery Association President Somyot Wongboonyakul told The Phuket News today (Oct 25) that the mass of dead fish are the leftovers from local fishermen sorting out their catch of anchovies.
“Please don’t panic about it. This from local fishermen, not a natural disaster,” Mr Somyot said.
Mr Somyot explained that he had confirmed that local fishermen had set up a net to catch anchovies in the waters just off the beach.
“They wanted to catch only anchovies, but they also caught pony fish in their net. After they brought their net in, they collected only the anchovies from the haul and left the rest of the fish there,” he said.
“It is not a natural disaster. Please don’t panic about it, but this is not what local fishermen should do,” Mr Somyot said.
Mr Somyot explained that he had no authority of the practices of local village fishermen as his association involved the Phuket commercial fishing fleet.
However he added, “I will raise this with the local fishing association for that area to make sure that the local fishermen there do not keep doing this.”
Meanwhile, Thalang District Chief Adul Chuthong confirmed that local villagers had cleared the dead fish from the beach.
“They wanted to clear the dead fish before they started to rot and cause harm to the local marine ecosystem,” he said.
Additional reporting by Eakkapop Thongtub