Villagers in southern Thailand form a 'crab bank' to give back to the ocean

By Li Xinyi, interviews and reporting

 

You’ve heard of lending banks, cord blood banks... but in Thailand, there’s something called a “crab bank”! However, this bank doesn’t let you deposit crabs to get more crabs in return. Instead, it was spontaneously set up by villagers from Krangpao Village in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province to maintain the ecological balance of the ocean. Whenever local fishermen catch female crabs carrying eggs, they must hand them over to the “crab bank.” Once the mother crabs hatch, the villagers can retrieve them, while the baby crabs are released back into the sea to grow further.

Located within the marine park of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, the small village of Krangpao is about 800 kilometers from Bangkok. With just twenty or thirty households, the villagers make a living through fishing. In addition to forming a voluntary “crab bank,” the Krangpao villagers also use fishing nets with relatively large holes—about 2 cm wide—to avoid catching undersized crabs.

Beyond the village’s environmental efforts, during the months of February to May, large fishing boats are prohibited from going out to sea within this area, giving the marine ecosystem time to rest. The larger vessels use this period for maintenance, while only small fishing boats are allowed to operate. This understanding of maintaining the food chain balance has led to frequent dolphin sightings in the area, making whale watching a popular local tourism attraction. Such eco-friendly practices are truly worth emulating.

Besides the efforts of local residents, there is also a small island named Koh Nui located at the maritime boundary between Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani Provinces. The island is home to a shrine dedicated to the revered Thai monk Luang Por Tuad. It is said that over a hundred years ago, during a local drought, this highly respected monk discovered a freshwater spring on the island, which solved the water shortage problem. To this day, fresh water continues to flow from the ground at the spring site, and the monk’s miracles continue to be celebrated across Thailand. Temples named after him, such as Wat Huay Mongkol in Hua Hin, enshrine the monk (for details, see www.tripass.net/article.php?op=articleinfo&articleid=5922).