Putting It All On The Line - PUBLISHED with DiveTheBlue.net

Dive into the perilous world of Thailand's hookah fishermen, who risk everything on a single breath to secure their livelihood. This gripping photo-essay documents the lives of men like Son and Thanagorn from Kung Wiman village, who spend up to six hours a day underwater using nothing but a compressor, a plastic hose, and sheer audacity to outcompete large commercial trawlers.

Witness their dangerous daily routine, averaging 30 dives to 20 meters with minimal surface intervals, defying all conventional dive safety rules. Explore the complex clash between traditional fishing, modern conservation efforts, and the desperate economics that drive these divers to put their lives on the line. This is a raw, unforgettable look at a community fighting to survive in the face of dwindling fish stocks and immense personal risk.

1. sportdivingmagazine december/januar y2011/12 divetheblue.net
80
B
utthisisn’tastoryofoldworld
industrywithamoderntwist;there
arenoshinyscubatanksonthe
brightlypaintedwoodenboats.The
fishermen’sbarebonedapproachto
divingeschewsexpensivetechnologyand
incomprehensiblescienceforsimplebut
hazardoushomegr ownmethods.The
underwaterworldhasbeendemocratised
withalongplastichose,amediumpressure
compressor,finsmendedwithbamboo,a
mask,andthepragmatismoffishermen
unburdenedbythephysiological‘details’of
diving.
SonandThanagornarecousinsandboth
self-taughtdivers.Theyappearunconcerned
bytherisksoftheirhighlydangero us
occupation:“Wefishfromseveno’clockin
themorninguntilsunset...about12hoursa
day.Whentherearefishwestay
underwaterfor20to30minutesperdive,if
therearemore fishwestaylonger.Excluding
resttime,Ithinkweareunderwaterfor
possiblysixhours.”That’ssixhoursaday
diving,upto30divesaday,onaverage
15-20mdeepandaveraging10-15minutes
perdivewithabout10-15minutesurface
intervalseachtime!AndfromNovember,
whichmarkstheannualbreakinThailand’s
rainyseason,theywilldivethiswayforthe
nextfivetosixmonths...sevendaysaweek!
Asthefirstlightofearlymorningcoloursthe
Gulfandtheshorelinemovesoutoffocus,
thecrewoftheNam PlaChokDiprepare
fortheday’sfishing.GuillaumeTougeron,a
localdiveinstructor,heardaboutthese
divingfishermen andinvitedAlextocome
aboardthe10mlongrueeyonmotorboatto
seeanddocumenttheirways.Todaythe
crewisfour;MrShonistheboat’scaptain
andowner,andMrWanlopandhisteenage
sonEllareonhandtopullinandcleanthe
fishingtrapsthatSonwillseekoutat15-
20m.
AlexpreparestofollowSon’sunderwater
workwithhiscamera andsetsuphisdive
gearnexttotheiceboxesreadyforthe
day’scatch.TheapprenticeEllis
responsibleforkeepingtheairhoses
untangledonceSonisunderwater,while
theCaptainkeepsacloseeyeonthe
greasycompressorthatsucksairoutofthe
atmospheretoariotousaccompanimentof
mechanicalnoises.Elleyesourcomplicated
rigofregulators,tanksandinflatableBCDs
withvagueamusement.
MrShonsignals,theboatisinposition,Son
takestheendofarope,clampstheopening
oftheplasticairtubebetweenhisteethand
jumpsintothemurkywater,ashadow
beneaththesurface.10minuteslaterthe
ropeistugged sharply;Sonisreturningto
thesurfacewiththefirstof30fishingtraps.
Whatgoesdownmustcomeup
Onceonboard,aholeiscutinthetrap’s
wire.Wanlopusesalandingnettoladle
thefishoutofthetrapintotheiceboxes,
throwsunwantedorundersizedfishbackin
theseaandclosestheholebysewingitup
withanothercord.Whilethecaptainuses
GPStomanoeuvretheboatintothenext
position,Wanlopcleansthenetcagewitha
wirebrushandfinallyrinsesthetrapand
thedeck,sendingadirtybrownsludge
backintothesea.”Thefishwon’tenterdirty
traps,sotheymustallbecleanedbefore
returningthemtothesea”explainsWanlop.
Allthistakesnomorethan10minutes,a
typicaldiveintervalforSon.
Oncethetraplandsonthesandybottom,
Sonfollowsitsline,locatesthecleantrap,
wrestlesitintoagoodspotforthefishand
untiestheline.Hethansetsofftofindand
tiethesamelinetothenexttrap,hopefully
fulloffishandforanotherround.
OccasionallySon’s‘fish-eye’viewrevealsa
spearfishingparadiseonlyhintedatona
GPSscreenabove.Then,he’llsurfacetoget
thespeargunfromtheboatandspend
another10-20minutesduckingbetween the
concreteblocksthatmakeuptheartificial
>THEFISHERME NOFKUNG WIMA NVILLAGE–PERCHEDONTHENORTHE ASTERN ARCOFTHEGULF
OFTHAILAND –AREBREAKINGTHERULES,MAKINGENEMIESAND RISKINGDEATH. FORYEARS NOW,
COMME RCIALAND UNSUSTAI NABLE FISHING OPERATIONS HAVE MONOPO LISED AND THREATENED
LOCALFISHSTOCKS.INORDE RTOGETTOTHEFISHFIRST, THISFISHING COMMUNITY HASTURNED
FISHING TRADITIONSUPSIDEDOWN ANDTAKENTODIVING INORDERTOSTAYAFLOAT.
PUTTING ITALLONTHELINE
:TEXTBYALANA GEORGE
IMAGES BYLAWRENCEALEX WU
reef20mdown.Hehastheadvantageof
selection,spearingonlythelargermore
valuablefish,andthenthreadingthesilver
bodiesontohisownbreathinghosefortheir
finaltriptothesurface.
Thanagorn,35,hasbeendivingfor10
years.Heknowshisdaringapproac hto
fishingismakinghimenemiesamongstthe
trawlercaptains.“Sincewestarteddiving
andspearfishingwehavehadproblems
withthebigfishingboats.Wehave
receivedcomplaintsfromthebigboats
(aboutusfishing)andtheyalsoaccusedus
ofusingcyanidetopoisonthefish,butit
wasn’ttrue.Thewaterpolice,fisheryoffice
andlawyersboardourboatsbuttheynever
findanythingbecausewehaveneverused
cyanide.Cubedhollowconcreteblocks
wereputdownbythemarineauthoritiesto
encourageandprovidefishhabitatand
growthbuteverythinghappenedbecause
thebigfishingboatswerenotcatchingany
largefishandcomplainedwhentheysaw
howsuccessfulwe(hadbeen).Plus,they
cannotusetheirfishingnetswiththe
concreteblockswherethefishhide.”
Fishingforkeeps
LikemanyoftheirSoutheastAsian
counterparts,Thaifishermenareoften
maligned fortheirdestructiveapproachto
securingacatch.Trawling.Cyanide.
Dynamite.Officiallybannedinmany
countriesincludingThailand,thesepractices
persistduetoacombinationofpoor
enforcement,povertyinducednecessity,few
non-fishinglivelihoodalternativesandhigh
demandforlivefishtradefrom
neighbouringcountries.
Sincethe1960sfishermenhavesprayed
overamillionkilogramsoftoxicsodium
cyanideontocoralreefsinthePhilippines
usingdiverstonetthestunnedfish.These
‘cyanidefishermen’usethesamelong
hookahbreathingtubesasSonand
Thanagorn,anddescendtothereefswhere
theycanselectivelysquirtpoisondirectly
::en vironmen t
Main:ForEllandhisfellowfishermen ,itistheirprayers
andtempleswhichprotectthematandunderthesea.
Lefttoright:Wanlopstitchesclosedatrapbyhand; Son
entersthewater, traplineononeside,lifelineonthe
other;Withtheecology ofthereefinmind,Sonselectively
spearsonlythelarge fish.

2. divetheblue.net
82 83
intocoralheadsandrockcrevices.Thenit
isjustamatter oftakingyourpickfrom
whatfloatsout–notmuchdifferentto
harvestingfruit.
Richfoodies inAsiaandornamentalpet
ownersfuelthelivefishtrade,elevating
personalenjoymentofbeautyor‘status-
dining’overecosystemintegrityand
sustainability.Morethan75%oflivefishdie
within48hoursofcaptureorprematurel y
en-routefromthereefstotherestaurants;
thustheexpectation ofheavy lossesmeans
enormousnumbersoffisharetakentomeet
demand.Meanwhilesodiumcyanideisa
silentandindiscriminate killerofreefs,
razingthehomes andfoodsourcesofall
thefish‘fortunate’enoughtobeleftbehind.
ThesituationisevenworseinMyanmar .In
placesalongthiscountry’scoastline,
dynamitefishinghasvisiblydevastated
reefs,carpetingtheseabed inaneerie
montageofnumbedfishandcoralrubble.
Sustainabilityhasbeenshelvedinfavour of
survival.Thereislittlehopethatthemajority
oflocalpeopleherewillreapbenefitsfrom
Myanmar’snascentdivingindustry,sothe
reefshavenoecono micvaluetocoastal
communitiesapartfromwhatcanbe
broughttothesurfaceandsoldtoday.
Meanwhile,theeconomicvalueofthe
neighbouringSimilanIslands fromscuba
divingalonewasestimatedtohave
generateduptoUS$55millionfortheThai
economy.
Thereefssurroundingthecousins’villagein
KungWimandonotshow signsofeither
cyanideordynamitefishing. The
DepartmentofFisheriesandlocalRayong
officialshavebeenusingtheseconcrete
blockstoencourageartificialreefgrowthto
providededicatedenvironmentsthat
‘produce’acatchforthelocalfishermen.It
isworking,slowly.Thanago rnsayswhilst
somespecieslikeseabassaredecliningin
thearea,hehasnoticedlargernumbers of
smallerfish.Neverthel ess,thisisstillarace
betweenconservationandunsustainab le
fishingpractices.
Thecombinationofmoder nGPSequipmen t,
mechanisednetretrievalsystemsandillegal
2cm-widemeshnetsmayundoallthegood
workofthefisheriesdepar tment, with
trawlerstrappingeverythingthatgetsinthe
wayandtearingupseagrassandbreaking
corals.Thehighoverhead sofbigger fishing
operationsalsomeans thatthereisless
discriminationabouttakingandselling
undersizedfish,afactacknowledgedby
Thanagornwhosays,“Ifthey(thebig
boats)weren’tdoingthis,Ithinkthere
wouldbemorefishforeveryone.”
Incomparison,thekeytothesustainability
andeconomicsuccessofdivingfishermen
isfoundintheadvantageofselection.The
locationoftrapsischosencarefullyand
they’replacedinsteadofdroppedonthe
reefstominimisedamage.Sonand
Thanagorncanidentifyandspearthe
largermorevaluablefish,leavingthe
smalleronestomatureandreplenishthe
reefs.
Thecrew’smaincompet itioncomes from
thelargefishingboatsrentedbyThai
captainsandoperatedbyunderpaidlabour
fromneighbouringcountries,althoughthe
small-scaleoperationsofKungWiman’s
divingfishermenareprovingmore
successfulandprofitable.Thecommu nity
hasorganisedwhatwouldbelikea
fishermen’scooperative,withfourteams
workingondifferentreefsandsellingtheir
catchatlocalmarkets.Biggerormore
valuablefishlikegrouperaresoldto
Bangkok’saffluenturbancrowd lessthan
150kmaway.Theincomeisthensplit
betweenthefourteamsensuringequityand
anassuredincome.Together,thefishermen
canmakeUS$300injusttwodays–an
unthinkablyhighsumcomparedtotheir
overworkedforeigncounterpartsonthebig
boats,whosesalaryisclosertoUS$60-90
permonth.
Thefishermenvaluethefreedomand
benefitsofworkingforthemselvesandthe
qualityoflifeintheirtight-knitcommu nity.
Thanagornsitswithhiswifeasshesortsthe
day’scatchwiththeotherwomen, directing
basketsoffishintodifferenttruckswhilst
keepinganeyeonheryoungson.“No
Thaiswanttoworkforthebigboats
becausetheThaitrawlingcaptainspaya
verylowsalary.Mostofthetimethecrew
work,live,eatandsleepontheboats
becausetheycan’taffordtoliveonthe
mainland.”
Fortunefavoursthebrave
Butwhatabouttherisks?25munderthe
boat’sshadow,thefranticbeepingofour
dive-computersareaclearreminderof
what’satstake.Divecomputershave
largelyreplacedthementalarithmetic
associatedwithcalculatingsafedive
profilesandascentrates,andarethe
moderndiver’sspeedcamera–reducing
fatalitiesassociatedwithunsafediving
throughanalertsystem.Ifthelogicof
scienceisanythingtogoby,thesemen
shouldbedead.
Thedangersofdecompressionillness(DCI),
common lyknownas‘thebends’,canlead
toseriousbarotraumaanddeath.The
probabilityofDCIisexacerbatedbylong
bottomtimes,shortintervalsbetween
repetitivedives,rapidascentsandchange
inaltitude.Sonascendedfromhislastdive
ofthedayatmore thanhalfametreper
second,leavingAlextowatchhis
disappearingfinsfromtherelativesafetyof
thesandybottom.
Sonisambivalenttohissafety,“Sometimes
thetubebreaksorIloseitandIwillhaveto
swimtothesurfacewithoutair...onceIhad
thisproblemthreetimesinoneday.Iwas
19mdeep whenthetubebrokeandIran
outofair.Ijustwentupasnormaland
nothinghappenedtome.”Sowepondered
ifSon’sapparentimperviousnesstoscuba
lorewasevidenceofcourage,ignorance,
naturalinstinctsorsomekindof
physiologicaladaptation?Accidentsdo
happen.Divephysiologyaside,mishaps
areinevitablegiventhephysicalnatureof
haulingheavytrapsalongthebottomand
keepingropes,airhosesanddiversfrom
tanglingorbeingcaughtinthepropellerof
themanoeuvringboat.Regar dless,itisthe
divers’riskydiveprofilesthatarguablypose
thegreatestthreats.
Ofcourse,therewasnopureoxygenonthe
boat,anothersimpleprocedurethatcould
savetheirlivesifsomethingwentwrong.
Thanagornrecallsthathiscousindiedafter
arapidascentandaseniorfisherman
who’dbeendivingfor20yearsalsodied
suddenly.“Wedon’tknowthecause.We
onlyknowthathefinishedhisdive,then
tookashower andrestedforawhileonthe
boat.Thenhejustdied.”
Othersarguethatgenerationsofdiving
haveequippedtheyoungmenwithfinely
tunedinstinctsfordivingandevenphysical
adaptations.Theyclaimthefatalities
associatedwithtraditionaldivinginthe
villagearenotunusuallyhighgiventhe
numberofdivers,orcomparedtotherate
offatalitiesinotherhigh-riskoccupations.
TheMokenareanomadicsea-faring
people(colloquiallyknownasseagypsies)
wholiveinandaroundtheislandsofthe
AndamanSeaandSouthernThaiprovinces.
DIVINGFISHERMENMIGHTBEDOINGFISHSTOCKS ABIG
FAVOURINTHAILAND,BUTWHENDOTHEPERSONAL RISKS
OFCONSE RVATIONBECOME TOOHIGH?
Top:A50metre plastichoseandthemostbasic ofequipment… patchedtogether withrubberbands andblack electrical tape!
Bottom: Sonusesaknotte dloopinthehosetosecurehisonlyairsourceunderwater .
Toptobottom:Theairsupply;Thebareendofaplastichoseisgrippedwiththeteeth;A10-15
minutesurfaceinterval;Thehosedoublesasafishlineforspearedcatch;Sortingthecatch.

3. sportdivingmagazine december/januar y2011/12
84
ScientistsfromLundUniversityhave
discoveredthattheirunderwatervisionis
twice assharpasnormalpeople andthey
areabletoaltertheshape oftheireyes’
lenses,thesamewayasanunder water
camera.Soisitpossible thatSonand
Thanag ornarealsodiving witha
physiologica ladvantage ?Aromantictheory
perhaps, butunlikelybecausethetradition
ofdiving isbrokenandunliketheMoken,
theThaifishermenhavenotbeendoingthis
theirentirelives.
ChangingTides
Thanag ornhasincorpora tedmodern
technique sintohisdiving –suchassafety
stopsandusingpuresyntheti coilinstead of
engine oilforthedivecompr essor –buthe
saysmostpeoplefromhisvillage, including
Son,prefertosticktothetraditionof
instinct sandsuperstition. “I’vebeen
studyingdivingwithGuillaumewhoteaches
inChant haburi.Iknow aboutsafetystops
andlimitinghowmany divesIdo,butthe
othersdon’tknowbecau setheydidnot
learnasIdid.”Thecostsofaprofessional
scubacourse,equipment andalicence to
fishwithscubagearareanother
disincen tivetoupdateskills–costing
around US$3,500.
Andyet,divingissettoincreaseinthe
area,thankstoincreasedlocal
environmentalawarenessandstrong
economicincentivesforlessfuel-intensiv e
fishing.Inmid2008thepriceofcrudeoil
incheditswayhigherthaneverbeforeand
theworldwasfacingafuelcrisis.Thehigh
priceofoilwasalsofeltintheGulfof
Thailand,erodingthealready tinymargins
offishermenandseeing aresurgenceof
traditionalfishingmethods.Thankstoa
globalresourcecrunch,fishing turnedto
lessfuelintensivetripsonlocalreefs,relying
ondiversratherthantrawling.
TheMarineAuthoritiesarealsoworking
withcommu nitiessuchasKungWimanto
promoteareturntotraditional fishing
methodssuchaslinefishinganddiving.The
GPSlocationsofthenewartificialreefsare
sharedwithvillagersandkeptsecretfrom
thelargerfishingoutfits,whorisklosingnets
anddamag ingtheirhullsiftheygointo
previouslysandyareas.
Inthefaceofdecliningfishstocks,isit
acceptablethatfishermenrisktheirlivesjust
tobeattheircompet ition?ForMrShonand
hismen,unlesstheywanttojointhe
underpaidcrews oftheunsustainable big
trawlerstheymustcontinuetousedivingto
seekoutthebigges tfish.ButSonand
Thannagornsaytheyarenotsokeenfor
theirchildrentofollowintheirfin-steps.The
risksaresimplytoohigh.
Butwhatifinstinctsandsuperstitionswere
backedupbymoderndivinginstructionand
equipment?Perhapsthenmoreyoungmen
wouldbeinclinedtochoosethefreedomof
self-supportingfishingcollectives
overjoiningcrewsonlarge
boats.Therefore,iftraditionis
thekeytosustainablefishing,
thenperhapsaffordablediver
educationfor
villagerscould
keepthewhole
fishing
industry,and
itsdivers,
abovewater.
OrdernowfromMountainOcean&TravelPublicationsemailbooks@mot pub.com.au/Tel[phone]
Priceincludes 10%GSTforAustralian Residents. AddA $10p&hperbookwithinAustralia
145photographers worldwide havecontributed
tothis‘ultimate guidebook’. Withover2,500
colourimages covering some1,180species,
hardcover, 360+pages, thisbooksetsanew
benchmark innudibranch identification.
NUDIBRANCHS OFTHEWORLD
PlusP&HwithinAustralia
A$
99
00