Follow 'Fads' after Visiting the Sea of Breath to See Goal Together Volunteer Work

Pak Nam Pran Local Fishing Group, Pranburi District, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province

... Although the annual project in which Goal Together volunteers collaborate to drive conservation work at Pak Nam Pran Sea is unable to take place due to safety precautions during the Covid situation, conservation efforts have not been halted. In August of last year, the Suthirat Foundation and the Pak Nam Pran Fishery Farmers Group continued to produce coconut saplings for use as homes or nurseries for small marine animals.

When the winds subsided at the end of the year, the foundation invited volunteers to bring doctors, divers, Goal Together members who had participated in the FADs placing activity in 2020, and Volunteer Wa, product developers who are experts in food standards, to help further develop the community. The project's 'Sustainable Volunteers' returned to the Pak Nam Pran area to continue conservation work while encouraging and empowering local fishing groups to become community business entrepreneurs, increasing the value of processed products to benefit the community economy, which the Foundation believes will yield more long-term results.

Making FADs: Cooperation between Local Fishermen and Volunteers from Various Professions

The term 'FADs' may not be familiar to most people. However, the local fishing method is based on local wisdom, in which fishermen take coconuts, vines, bamboo, or other natural materials readily available in the area, tie them into clumps, and dump them into the sea to attract small aquatic animals to come and live, nurture tiny baby crabs and fish to grow, and breed.

Because we’ve been supporting each other since the Blue Crab Bank’s inception, when villagers wanted to use sang as another tool for conservation, the Suthirat Yoovidhya Foundation has been ready to fully support and collaborate with the sang community since 2019. Every year, Goal Together invites volunteers to help make FADs for Talay Pran. People from various professions are joining forces to cut coconut paths, tie up trees, and brainstorm ideas to further conservation work based on their respective experiences and expertise.

However, last year’s COVID situation forced the Goal Together activity to be postponed, but conservation efforts cannot be halted. In August, the foundation and the Pak Nam Pran fishermen’s group continued their annual release of 75 sang along conservation areas, and they experimented with using Manila hemp rope made from natural fibers rather than nylon rope to reduce the impact of microplastics decomposing in the sea.

That means, in addition to hoping that shrimp, shellfish, crabs, and fish will move into the housing (FADs) developments that have been built this year as usual. Another question to consider is how resistant the Manila hemp rope is to wind and waves.

The Community Members are Pleased with the Outcomes

Even though he did not dive in, Uncle Chuea, the group’s president and conservation leader, smiled a little and a lot as he listened to the words of the divers who went down to investigate and returned to reveal photos and videos of the underwater atmosphere as evidence. Uncle Chuea stated that it can be used to communicate with various agencies to determine the effectiveness of conservation efforts and invited him to discuss with the foundation team that Manila hemp rope is another viable option because it is more durable than expected.

Serious conservation work with local fishing groups in the area, such as establishing a blue crab bank that deposits crab eggs outside their shells, enforcing rules against capturing small aquatic animals, refraining from sailing on Buddhist holy days, and gathering to collect trash in the sea until the FADs are placed. This has restored the population of aquatic animals, particularly economically important fish such as mackerel, and you can see many rare fish species swimming in front of the camera to let you know that I have returned. Uncle Chua told me an intriguing strategy “In addition to being a nursery for aquatic animals, villagers also use the FADs as a point of marking a boundary to make an agreement with large commercial fishing boats not to enter the FADs placing area in order to prevent the capture of aquatic animals in the coastal area as well.”

Although we were unable to meet volunteers from various professions who came to work and share experiences for conservation and development work through the Goal Together project, shrimp, shellfish, crabs, and fish gathered in houses under the sea to produce offspring and create a sustainable ecosystem with a balanced and joyful coexistence between people and nature.