2007 Volume 47 Issue 2-3 Pages 143-165
Thai fishery industries were heavily damaged by the Tsunami disaster in December 2004. Both marine capture fisheries and aquaculture have so far struggled with huge loss and damage of people’s livelihoods. This paper had two objectives. The first was to assess the effects of the Tsunami disaster on fishers’ activities (both in value and in non-value aspects). The second was to investigate how resource users and local people keep the sustainability of coastal resource management after the crisis. The Tsunami affected fishing communities in terms of fishers’ income and their activities on coastal resource management. The fishers were likely to try to earn money as much and fast as they could, by increasing their catch effort. They caught all sizes of fish, including small-sized or juvenile fishes. Meanwhile, in a positive way, local people realized that they should increase effort to conserve and transplant mangrove trees to expand nursery grounds of fishes and to protect from tidal waters. As fast as the fishers can relieve from critical situation, especially economic crisis, they have to reduce any risks of destroying coastal resource. Their awareness about the importance of sustainable use is an essential factor to make recovery programs of fishing communities.
