Goal Together Activity “Doing FADs, Learn About the Blue Crab Bank”

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

The Suthirat Yoovidhya Foundation’s Goal Together#7 project invites volunteers to participate and learn how important the sea is to us through action in Doing FADs, Learn About the Blue Crab Bank'.

The Blue Crab Bank learning activity began with the group president, Mr. Chuea Khaeyai (Uncle Chuea), leading the volunteers to the 8 blue crab conservation ponds, which contained breeding mother blue crabs that the villagers had brought and donated for conservation. He explained how the conservation project began by driving work from going out to sea to releasing baby crabs into the sea. While educating volunteers, they exchanged information and asked questions.

In the afternoon, we take volunteers to learn about local fishing tools made from villagers’ wisdom and invention, which are used to catch marine animals and are environmentally friendly, as well as FADs (fish house) activities with farmer group representatives providing knowledge. Before taking action, volunteers learned about the significance of “FADs” to the ecosystem, as well as how the materials used to make it are long-lasting and beneficial to the marine environment.

Seminar “From Upstream to Downstream with Local Fishing Methods towards Sustainable Conservation”

1. Mr. Chuea Khaeyai discussed driving conservation work, also known as the “Upstream” of all activities, and how it began. He had to deal with obstacles and how to solve various crises, such as how the group was able to be driven until it was strong enough to create a better group economic system, the community had income, how to create sustainability, and how to become a community business entrepreneur.

2. Professor Rachakorn Vachirasirodom, a representative of the academic agency, came to participate in driving work in the area to support academic knowledge and create a marketing planning system and standard system, as well as to support knowledge in various fields in order to advance to become community business entrepreneurs.

3. Ms. Apinya Chokbundit, an expert in organic agricultural standards, came to reinforce and expand knowledge for the group, inviting them to think, exchange, reflect on lessons learned, and analyze the potential for developing a system to achieve initial organic agricultural standard certification with the goal of becoming a community business entrepreneur. Having standards helps to build trust among customers or interested parties and certify that the group's products are truly up to standard and safe for consumers.

4. Mr. Vuttipong Chacaratphong, Vice President of the Suthirat Yoovidhya Foundation, is a representative of the Foundation, which comes to support community activities by creating knowledge and assisting communities in becoming more sustainable by considering groups that have the potential to carry out the work and can serve as a social model for other communities.

• FADs Placing Activities

Volunteers boarded nine boats to place “FADs” at the same coordinates as previous years. It is 3,000 meters from the coast. FADs are transported on a boat made of cement buoys, bamboo, and coconut trees, with two FADs per boat, in order to learn the entire process from the beginning of the FADs to its placement. After completing the setup, the volunteers learned about fishing farmers’ livelihoods, specifically collecting crabs, green-backed fish nets, and salvaging the Squid Snake (Snake Hoi Sang).

• Lesson taking activity divided volunteers into three groups to brainstorm ideas on three topics:

1. What do you gain by conserving marine resources? How will it affect the community?

2. How has the Group’s transition to becoming a community business entrepreneur impacted conservation efforts?

3. How important is having an outside perspective on the Group, and how can it benefit the area?

To share information from this lesson with the community in order to improve and develop the Group’s potential.