WHY YOU SHOULD NOT DO FISHING ON SNORKELING TOURS? – SAVE PHU QUOC

Fish Population Is Seriously Decreasing – Save Phu Quoc

Phu Quoc coral reefs are under threatens from illegal fishing (rake nets, any size: Do not release immature or egg-bearing species), abandoned fishing net, massive tourism, waste water from restaurants on small islands in South Phu Quoc, and fish population witnessing a significant reduction. You can go to the night market or seafood market (Duong Dong market) and see a lot of fish as well as squid at very small size. And it is now dramatically getting harder to catch big-size fishes such as barracuda, cobia, and giant trevally in Phu Quoc than ever. 

Differences between Real Deep-sea Fishing and Entertaining Fishing on snorkeling tours?

Real deep-sea fishing trip is a dedicated fishing trip with professional equipments (dedicated reel, rods, baits), dedicated boats and dedicated itineary (spots, timing) which is totally different with selective fishing spots for the purpose of catching big-size fish (matured fish) with different advanced techniques while entertaining fishing advertised snorkeling tours in Phu Quoc is equiped with very simple fishing reel, small hock, thin reel, small dead bait without any specific fishing spots and fixed timeframe which are vital to big-fish fishing, almost 0 chance, so tourists can only catch small-size fish as seen in the photos below.

Fish catch on snorkeling tours can not be used

Because the fish are too small in size, almost junior fish, it is too small to cock for the included-lunch on those kinds of snorkeling so they throw fish back to the ocean, junior fish usually got dead due to the quick change in water pressure after taking the hocks, they have no chance to grow into mature fish, live to reproductive age. Thereby this kind of fishing on snorkeling tours which takes around thousands of guests daily in Phu Quoc Island destroying the marine ecosystem of the island.

Thrown-dead-fish body can be other fish meal or be polluted to the ocean. Accordingly, each guest on those big boats, speedboat is given a fishing reel with the bait (a small piece of dead squid). People then drop their baits into the sea and wait for their catches. Most of the high-rate catches are tiny-sized fishes that will get dead from the hook hocking deep inside their body.

You may don’t know but this kind of entertainment is seriously compromised. Those activities usually provided by the irresponsible nature of over-commercial tours that do not care about environmental protection especially in the context of the marine life in the Phu Quoc sea.

One more thing, if you are really keen on fishing then you could consider joining a Deep-sea fishing trip which is a genuine sea fishing experience; otherwise, don’t think about fishing big fish from any snorkeling tour. 

The picture above is just one of real case in which we found a tour guide catching a Red Grouper right at a Coral Reef which is considered MPAs (Marine Protected Areas) in Phu Quoc.

Disclaimer:  This is not to stigmatize a rival company, but to criticize one of its harmful actions on the marine environment of Phu Quoc, our mutual paradise that we need to SAVE.

Every day, thousands of people are joining snorkeling tours by speedboats and big wooden boats. Days after days, thousands of tiny-size fishes are taken out of Phu Quoc sea; more seriously, some tours doing that “entertaining fishing” right at coral reefs which is definitely prohibited in Vietnam. No small fish, No healthy reef, and No big fish.

Please be aware of this important issue to save the reefs, the tiny creatures and save Phu Quoc island!

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