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SCMP’s Asia desk

Thai marine park officials are on the hunt for a visitor who was caught on camera feeding a plastic wristband to a sea turtle. If caught, the culprit could be looking at a fine and even jail time.
A tourist who had visited Mu Ko Similan National Park sent a message to the park’s social media page on Saturday to report on the visitor’s action, according to the Bangkok Post.
The tourist said that while snorkelling in the park around Islands 5 and 6, the visitor was seen offering a yellow plastic wristband to a turtle and encouraging it to eat the band.
An academic and recreation team, along with the diving operations unit, were immediately dispatched to look for the animal, park chief Siriwat Suebsai told the Thai newspaper.
They found the turtle near the islands and took it to the pier for further examination. It is not known what the check-up revealed.
Wildlife experts say plastic items, even a single piece, are extremely dangerous to sea turtles.
A turtle has a 22 per cent chance of dying if it ate just one piece of plastic, the WWF Australia said in June, citing a study of nearly 1,000 turtles that washed up dead on Australian beaches by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and the University of the Sunshine Coast.

That likelihood shoots up to 50 per cent if a turtle has 14 plastic items in its gut.
“Even a single piece of plastic can kill a turtle,” University of the Sunshine Coast marine biologist Kathy Townsend said, as quoted by WWF Australia.
“Two of the turtles we studied had eaten only one piece of plastic, which was enough to kill them. In one case, the gut was punctured, and in the other, the soft plastic clogged the gut.”
The conservation organisation estimated that 52 per cent of all sea turtles in the world have eaten plastic.
The incident happened just over a month since Mu Ko Similan National Park in Phang Nga province reopened for its annual tourism season from October 15 to May 15, next year.
At the opening, park officials told The Nation that they would be strictly enforcing regulations. The park had been closed for five months to allow nature to recover, according to Khaosod newspaper.
In August, Thailand introduced new diving rules to protect corals and marine animals, Thai PBS reported. Among them is a requirement that only advanced-level divers or those with at least 40 logged dives are allowed to take pictures underwater.


“It is because those who are not professional diving camerapersons tend to destroy corals while taking pictures,” said Pinsak Suraswadi, director general of the Marine and Coastal Resources Department.
Also, the maximum number of divers per handler has been limited to four for scuba diving and 20 for snorkelling and free-diving. Operators found breaking these rules can be fined up to 200,000 baht (US$6,200), jailed for up to two years, or both.
Since Saturday’s incident, park authorities have contacted the tour company to identify the culprit and offered a reward for information leading to the person’s capture.
In a statement posted on social media on Sunday, Siriwat urged “tour operators, boat attendants and tourists to maintain a distance of at least 3 metres [10 feet] from marine life”.
Violators can be fined up to 100,000 baht and, if their actions are deemed to cause harm to marine life, they can be fined up to 500,000 baht, jailed for a maximum of five years, or both, according to the statement.
Following the incident, Athapol Charoenshunsa, department of national parks, wildlife and plant conservation director-general, has also ordered more stringent enforcement of wildlife safety rules in all national parks.


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Thailand

Visitor in Thailand who fed turtle a plastic wristband sought by park officials

A sea turtle at a park in Thailand was fed a plastic wristband by a visitor, prompting park authorities to launch an investigation. Photo: Facebook/Mu Ko Similan National Park

Mu Ko Similan National Park in Thailand warns visitors not to feed wildlife in a poster on its social media account. Photo: Facebook/Mu Ko Similan National Park

‘Flood after flood’ hits Thailand and Vietnam, with Malaysia next in line

A person wades through a flooded area in Hat Yai, a major southern city in Thailand’s Songkhla province, on Saturday. Hat Yai has been declared a disaster zone. Photo: Reuters

People stand in water next to a man in a wheelchair in a flooded area in Hat Yai district, Songkhla, Thailand, on Sunday.  The floods have resulted in tens of thousands being evacuated from their homes. Photo: Reuters

People wade through floodwaters in Nha Trang in Vietnam’s coastal province of Khanh Hoa on Thursday. Tourist areas in Vietnam have been hit by successive rounds of flooding. Photo: AFP

Officers from the Malaysia Fire and Rescue Department inspect houses affected by floodwaters in Klang on Monday. The meteorological department has warned that thunderstorms and “very heavy rain” are expected to continue till Wednesday. Photo: EPA

Bali hostel poisoning mystery deepens after Chinese traveller’s death

Chinese tourist Deqing Zhuoga was found dead at the Clandestino Hostel in Canggu, Bali, on September 2. Photos: Facebook / Deqing Zhuoga / Clandestino Hostel

Pool area of the Clandestino Hostel in Canggu. Photo: Facebook / Clandestino Hostel

‘Please stop’: Philippines nickel mining boom brings floods, failed crops

Nickel mining operations are seen near Cagdianao, Dinagat Island, on November 8. Photo: Jeoffrey Maitem

Open-cast nickel mining is seen near Claver town in Surigao del Norte, southern Philippines. Photo: Jeoffrey Maitem

Nickel mining operations near Cagdianao town on Dinagat Island. Photo: Jeoffrey Maitem

Electric vehicles charge in Manila earlier this year. Activists say urging demand for EVs in the Philippines highlights the urgency of the crisis. Photo: AFP

Singapore seizes 20 rhinoceros horns worth US$867,000 in largest-ever smuggling haul

The 20 pieces of rhinoceros horns weigh 35.7kg. Photo: National Parks Board of Singapore

SATS Cargo Acceptance staff member Vengadeswaran Letchumanan with the seized rhinoceros horns. Photo: Jean Iau

SATS staff detected irregularities in four pieces of cargo en route to Laos. Photo: National Parks Board of Singapore

NParks is working to identify around 150kg of other animal parts seized. Photo: National Parks Board of Singapore

This Week in Asia

Health & Environment

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Asia

Southeast Asia

Plastic items, even a single piece, are extremely dangerous to sea turtles, according to wildlife experts


Plastic items, even a single piece, are extremely dangerous to sea turtles, according to wildlife experts.


Tourism

Asia travel

Marine Department

Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation

Visitor in Thailand who fed turtle a plastic wristband sought by park officials

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Plastic items, even a single piece, are extremely dangerous to sea turtles, according to wildlife experts

Plastic items, even a single piece, are extremely dangerous to sea turtles, according to wildlife experts