Pak Nam Pran
A blockade commenced yesterday morning at around 9 a.m. at the mouth of the Pran Buri River in front of the Lawana resort.
Since then, no boats whatever have been permitted to enter or leave Pak Nam Pran.
Located 25 km south of Hua Hin, Pak Nam Pran is the biggest and most important fishing port in the area, with over 300 seagoing fishing boats based there.
Up to 4 rows of local small squid boats have cordoned of the estuary to protest at the action of larger boats dredging for shellfish off the coast.
According to the locals, the shellfish boats are not from Pak Nam Pran; rather they come from Cha-am, Petchaburi, Samut Sakhorn, etc.
The locals argue that the shellfish boats tear up the seabed, thus leaving precious little for the squid to feed on and that, for this reason, squid have started to become scarce in the area.
The locals on this side of the river, in particular, live almost exclusively from small-scale squid fishing – hence the banks of green light out at sea at night.
It is said that the shellfish boats are allowed to operate and moor in Pak Nam Pran only because they pay off the local harbour police.
The locals have formed a solidarity committee and have said that they will not lift the blockade until the head of the provincial government in Prachuabkirikhan comes to hear their grievances.
They have two demands:
1. that the shellfish boats may only fish outside a certain limit
2. that the head of the harbour police is transferred out of the area.
The locals, with wives and children, are holding a day and night vigil at the blockade and appear to have the full support of the local community, most of whom are linked in some to the squid-fishing industry.
Meetings are apparently being held this afternoon in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
In my experience of Thailand, a rare show of local people actively taking matters into their own hands rather than smiling and putting up with it!!
