Mu Ko Lanta National Park officials, together with the police 426, caught 3 fishermen for illegal fishing in the park in fear of damaging coral reefs.
Mr. Anuchat Atharn, Assistant Head of Mu Ko Lanta National Park Krabi Province, along with Pol. Lt. Col. Kongphop Phosaen, Commander-in-Chief of the 426 Krabi Border Patrol, brought officers to investigate illegal fishing. After being notified by local fishermen in Koh Lanta Yai sub-district Koh Lanta District Krabi province that there was a local fishing boat illegally catching fish in the area around Koh Rok Nok, Koh Lanta Yai Subdistrict, Koh Lanta District, the authority took out a patrol boat to the scene for further investigation.
At the scene, a local fishing boat was found, which was a longboat or 1 hull boat with 3 capable men, later known as Mr. Sittichai Phrakong, 25, Mr. Thanawut Thaleluek, 22, and Mr. Scripture Kongsem, 42, who were all villagers of the village 2 Ban Mod Tanoi, Koh Libong Subdistrict, Kantang District, Trang Province, and about to cross the province to Koh Lanta District area, Krabi. The officials had once warned that they were not allowed to catch aquatic animals in the restricted area, but in the evening of March 24, it was found that they were catching fish by pulling nets from the sea. The authority came to the spot by capturing the coordinates via satellite and found that the area was the east of Koh Rok Nok, Laem Son Bay in Mu Ko Lanta National Park Krabi. The authority, therefore, arrested the three people and seized the boat along with one fishing netting tool, and various kinds of fish weighing 121 kilograms in the hull as evidence for prosecution. All three confessed that they actually came in to smuggle aquatic animals and were filed against the National Park Act of 2019.
The area of ​​Koh Rok has been declared as a part of Mu Ko Lanta National Park. Koh Rok consists of 2 islands, Koh Rok Nai and Koh Rok Nok. The side facing each other is a sandy beach, separated by shallow sea trenches. The distance of the island is about 250 meters for those who like to walk along the beach. The highlights of Koh Rok are coral reefs around the island and along the waterways; as a result, the island serves as a deep and shallow dive site for tourists.
