Thailand's Ghost Net Crisis: How Abandoned Fishing Gear Is Strangling Similan Reefs

Thailand Marine Park Rangers have hauled a 500 kg abandoned fishing net from waters near Ko Payang in the Similan Islands National Park, the latest in a string of high-stakes cleanups designed to prevent coral reefs from being smothered and marine animals from dying slow, tangled deaths. The operation, carried out by the park's SL.1 protection unit based on Ko Miang, marks the second major ghost-gear recovery in the archipelago this year—and underscores a broader crisis playing out along Thailand's coastlines.

Why This Matters

• Over 2,500 kg of ghost nets removed from Similan waters since February, with a 2-tonne haul in late February from a deep-sea reef at 45 m depth.

• Ghost nets make up 50% of all ocean plastic and continue killing fish, turtles, and dolphins for decades after being abandoned.

• Thailand dumps 23,000 tonnes of plastic waste into the ocean annually, threatening livelihoods of artisanal fishers who now report catching more plastic than fish.

• Authorities are ramping up Marine Smart Patrols to intercept these "floating death traps" before they cause irreversible damage to some of Southeast Asia's most biodiverse reefs.

The Deadly Mechanics of Ghost Gear

The term "ghost net" sounds almost poetic—but the reality is brutal. These are lost or deliberately discarded fishing nets that drift through the ocean indefinitely, ensnaring anything in their path. Unlike a working net, which is hauled up and emptied, a ghost net keeps fishing, day and night, year after year.

In the Similan Islands, a UNESCO-listed marine biodiversity hotspot, the damage is compounded by the area's rich coral ecosystems. Nets drape over reef formations, blocking sunlight and strangling colonies. Strong currents can drag the gear across the seabed, tearing corals from their anchors. Large animals—whale sharks, manta rays, sea turtles—become entangled and either drown or haul the net around for months, suffering deep lacerations and infection.

The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources reported in 2022 that ghost gear is now the single largest threat to rare species from marine debris in Thai waters. Small-scale fishers in the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand say the problem has reached a tipping point: plastic outnumbers fish in many trawls.

What This Means for Residents

For anyone living in Phuket, Krabi, or Phang Nga provinces, the health of the Similan reefs isn't just an environmental abstraction—it's an economic lifeline. The islands draw tens of thousands of divers and snorkelers each season, supporting hotels, dive shops, transport operators, and coastal restaurants. Coral die-offs caused by ghost nets translate directly into fewer tourists and lower incomes.

Commercial and artisanal fishers also bear the cost. Ghost nets deplete fish stocks by capturing juveniles and breeding adults indiscriminately. Over time, this drives down catches, forces longer trips farther offshore, and raises operational costs. The nets also pose a navigation hazard: tangled propellers can disable boats and require expensive repairs.

There's a public health angle, too. As plastic nets degrade over centuries, they break down into microplastics that enter the food chain. Shellfish, squid, and reef fish consumed in coastal markets can carry these particles, with potential long-term health implications still being studied.

February's Massive Haul Set the Tone

The April operation near Ko Payang wasn't an isolated incident. On 27 February, a specialized dive team spent hours at 45 m depth extracting roughly 2,000 kg of nets and fish aggregating devices (FADs) from a deep-sea coral outcrop near the same island. That recovery—nearly four times the weight of the latest find—required technical diving skills and surface support, illustrating the logistical complexity of deep-water cleanups.

Both operations were part of the park's Marine Smart Patrol program, which combines routine surface surveillance with targeted underwater inspections. Rangers use GPS mapping to flag high-risk zones—areas where strong currents, shipping lanes, and illegal fishing overlap—and schedule dive surveys accordingly.

Why Thailand Is a Ghost Net Hotspot

Thailand's position at the crossroads of major shipping routes, combined with intensive fishing pressure in the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand, creates a perfect storm for gear loss. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing remains endemic, and operators engaged in IUU activity often abandon damaged nets rather than risk detection by bringing them to port.

Legal fishers aren't blameless either. Gear is expensive, but so is lost fishing time. In rough weather or when nets snag on reefs, crews sometimes cut the line rather than spend hours attempting a recovery. Once adrift, a single trawl net can ghost-fish for decades, gradually fragmenting into smaller, harder-to-spot pieces.

According to the 2022 ministerial report, ghost gear now accounts for up to 50% of plastic pollution in Thai waters—a figure that dwarfs single-use bags, bottles, and food wrappers combined.

Long-Term Fixes on the Horizon

Removing nets is essential, but it's a reactive approach. Preventive strategies are starting to gain traction, though implementation remains patchy.

Net Free Seas, a program run by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) and funded by the Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund, works with fishing villages along the Andaman coast to collect end-of-life nets before they're dumped. The gear is shipped to recycling facilities, where it's shredded and reformed into sporting goods, kitchenware, and even automotive components. Participating communities receive payments per kilogram, turning waste into a modest income stream.

The Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI), the world's largest cross-sector alliance on the issue, has developed a Best Practice Framework covering gear design, loss reporting, and retrieval protocols. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) published Voluntary Guidelines on Marking of Fishing Gear in 2018, urging countries to mandate identification tags that make lost nets easier to trace and recover.

Thailand has yet to adopt mandatory gear-marking legislation, though pilot programs are underway in select ports. Advocates argue that a national registry linking gear serial numbers to vessel licenses would create accountability and reduce deliberate dumping.

The Challenge of Coordination

Despite individual successes, Thailand lacks a unified national strategy for ghost gear. Cleanup operations are often ad hoc, driven by park budgets and volunteer enthusiasm rather than systematic planning. Data collection is inconsistent: one agency logs net weight, another logs GPS coordinates, a third tracks species impacted—but no central database ties the information together.

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), which certifies sustainable fisheries, recently tightened its ghost-gear requirements, demanding that applicants demonstrate active loss-prevention measures and account for lost FADs. Thai fisheries seeking MSC certification will need to upgrade their practices, potentially setting a higher bar across the industry.

What You Can Do

Residents and visitors in coastal areas can play a direct role:

• Report sightings: If you spot nets, buoys, or other fishing debris while diving or boating, notify the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources hotline or the nearest national park office.

• Support recycling programs: Look for gear drop-off points in fishing communities. Some dive shops in Phuket and Krabi participate in collection schemes.

• Choose certified seafood: Products carrying MSC or Thailand Quality Shrimp labels come from operations with stronger environmental safeguards.

• Avoid single-use plastics: Reducing overall ocean plastic lightens the cumulative burden on marine ecosystems, making targeted cleanups like the Similan operation more effective.

The 500 kg net pulled from Ko Payang is a tangible win—but it's one piece of gear in an ocean full of them. Scaling up recovery efforts, tightening regulations, and shifting fisher behavior will determine whether Thailand's reefs can rebound or continue their slow suffocation under synthetic shrouds.