Officials tighten checks at Kata Beach after parrotfish spearing images go viral

The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), together with security and local agencies, inspected Kata Beach in Phuket on Sunday (May 10) after images circulated on social media showing tourists allegedly spearing a parrotfish in the area. The act is an offence under a ministerial announcement and carries both imprisonment and a fine.

Officials from Marine and Coastal Resources Office 10, together with Phuket Marine Police, Tourist Police, the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division and Karon Municipality — more than 20 officers in total — inspected the southern headland area of Kata Beach in Karon subdistrict, Mueang district, Phuket.

Initial checks found that the alleged offenders were a group of Chinese tourists, whose identities are now being traced. They reportedly dived and speared fish near a rocky reef before bringing a parrotfish measuring no more than 50 centimetres onto the beach to display, behaviour officials described as inappropriate and damaging to the ecosystem.

The act violates the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s 2024 announcement on designated environmental protection zones and measures in Phuket province, specifically Clause 10(7). The offence is punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine of up to 100,000 baht, or both, under Section 100 of the Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act 1992.

Karon Municipality and related agencies have set urgent measures, including installing warning signs and legal notices along the beachfront to inform tourists of the restrictions.

Municipal officers and police will also be deployed to patrol high-risk areas on a regular basis.

Authorities are asking members of the public and tourists who witness anyone catching or possessing parrotfish to call the Forest Protection Hotline at 1362, available 24 hours a day, so officials can be alerted and take immediate legal action.