Phuket Fishermen 'Warned Off by Gun Toting Resort Guards'

By Prasit Tarnsirisin PHUKET: Anti-corruption investigators are to visit an island off Phuket where a resort's security guards fire guns to warn off fishermen, a meeting heard today.

Maithon island is home to one resort but the resort management acted as though they owned the whole island, said marine conservationist Suta Prateep Na Talang.

Khun Suta, who also represents local Phuket fishermen, said the office of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission was expected to visit Maithon next month.

He told a meeting of 35 local fishing representatives that small boats were finding it difficult to maintain catch levels off Phuket's coast because of unfair competition.

Large fish and crab boats from Phang Nga and Ranong were entering the 3000-metre zone around Phuket, which is supposed to be reserved for small local craft.

Adding to the problems for local coastal fishermen were bad-water run-offs and some spots around popular tourist islands where there were too many day-trippers, polluting surrounding seas, he said.

No representatives of companies that have large fishing vessels were at today's meeting in Phuket City.

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It's my understanding that the owner of the resort is indeed the owner of the whole island (it's quite small). Incidentally, the resort does not operate and hasn't for some time. It used to be known as "Honeymoon Island', and it has small villas, with larger buildings for reception and dining etc. The waters just off the western side of the island are fantastic, being very clear and with wonderful coral. Virtually nobody every goes there.

There used to be a couple of Government moorings a couple of hundred metres from the shore, but when I was last there a couple of months ago, they had disappeared.

Posted by Phil on July 18, 2012 16:32

Editor Comment:

That's odd. The last review posted on TripAdvisor on June 4 (and translated from French) says: An island hotel! Take a power boat for rejoidre. Turquoise white sandy beach. Flower lei on arrival. The island has, some twenty bungalows, never slept in a bed as broad, meter could be comfortable 4 people. A true home is. Bad points: Lack of Activities, isolation. In fact it's good for retirees. Me at 25 years remained two days were enough. Good experience anyway.

The reviewer gave it five stars and headed the review ''Paradise.''

Can you send me a link to the TripAdvisor review? The review you mention may have been in June, but what year!!!

Here is a link to the resort:

http://www.honeymoonislandphuket.com/aboutus.html

I believe that the resort closed in early 2009. Looking at it from the sea, it's quite dilapidated and would need a substantial amount of work to get it habitable again. That said, it is a wonderful spot, but completely open to the northeast monsoon weather.

Posted by Phil on July 18, 2012 17:18

Think that you are wrong. Check the year of the TripAdvisor post. I believe that it closed either late 2008 or early 2009. There is an entry for TripAdvisor for Honeymoon Island, Phuket (which is Maithon), but it's never had any entries or comments.

Posted by Phil on July 18, 2012 17:29

Editor Comment:

Why is it that so many readers leave us to do their research, then don't believe what we tell them? Check it yourself, Phil. It says: June 4, 2012, under Maiton Island Resort. (the logical place to look).

Don't be so ignorant. The correct spelling for the island is Maithon, not Maiton. Searching on TripAdvisor for Maithon produces nothing. Again I repeat, we were there in I think either March or April of this year, and it was still closed. You will see that there is another review in May of this year, and then nothing since 2009.

Posted by Phil on July 18, 2012 17:54

Editor Comment:

So TripAdvisor, the resort's reviewers and Phuketwan have it wrong and Phil has it right? Sure. If you look down the bottom, Phil, under the English reviews, you will discover the review - as we noted, it's in French. A little more thought on your part would save wasting your time and mine.

Not only me, it appears that the Hydrographic Department of the Royal Thai Navy, Krung Thep, chart number 308 (Phuket to Kantang) agrees with me. Maithon.

Are you naturally ignorant or is it something you have to practise?

Regardless, it may have re-opened in the last couple of months, but it was closed for at least 2 to 3 years before that (the period in which I've been going there to snorkel from my boat).

Posted by Phil on July 18, 2012 18:09

Editor Comment:

You've had your head underwater for too long, Phil. Next time you surface, read up on ''Transliteration''. There is no right or wrong spelling in English for many a Thai place name, just some that are used by the vast majority and others by a tiny minority. In this case, Maiton wins by some distance. And you know what to do with your ''h''.

On my chart 308 it is writing: Ko Mai Thon
Pevious owners of Koh Mai Thon Resort and the present one as Honeymoon Island Phuket Resort, do not want any customers or tourists on the beach as they market their resort as an exclusive resort for high spenders (Honeymoon travellers) as must compete with resort in Maldives and Malaisia.
During the monsoon period the beach is unsafe and during the November-April period the wind blows directly toward the beach and the sea is full of sand with waves.

Posted by Whistle-Blower on July 18, 2012 18:55

If you look at the tripadvisor profile of the user who posted a review on june 4, he also posted many reviews of various hotels in London and Dublin the same day.

You could then conclude that the date of review has nothing to do with the date of stay in this resort.

You could then follow up by looking at the rest of this user's profile, and see that he posted pictures from a phuket/phi phi trip on 2009.

Bingo, it matches with a first hand visual testimony that is saying the resort has been closed since early 2009!

Posted by John on July 19, 2012 01:11

I sail past this island 2 or 3 times per month and have been doing so since late '09. I can confirm that it has not been in use for this period. It has a floating line exclusion zone around the East side of the island, preventing boats from anchoring in less than 15m of water during the SW monsoon. This is where the decaying resort is located. There is security on this side of the island, who allowed me to roam around the beach, but not enter the resort area. I have never been fired at and normally there are several fishing boats operating around the North end of the island...these tend to be long-tails and squid boats.

Posted by ElCapitan on July 19, 2012 10:09

Editor - why so much animosity toward your readers??

Posted by matt on July 19, 2012 15:11

Editor Comment:

I have no animosity towards any reader. But if some anonymous online person says ''Don't be so ignorant'' and follows up with ''Are you naturally ignorant or is it something you have to practise?'' I tend to adopt the same tone.

Most of your comments, matt, are about the editor, not the issue. I don't intend to debate it further.

Phuket Fishermen 'Warned Off by Gun Toting Resort Guards'

By Prasit Tarnsirisin PHUKET: Anti-corruption investigators are to visit an island off Phuket where a resort's security guards fire guns to warn off fishermen, a meeting heard today.

Maithon island is home to one resort but the resort management acted as though they owned the whole island, said marine conservationist Suta Prateep Na Talang.

Khun Suta, who also represents local Phuket fishermen, said the office of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission was expected to visit Maithon next month.

He told a meeting of 35 local fishing representatives that small boats were finding it difficult to maintain catch levels off Phuket's coast because of unfair competition.

Large fish and crab boats from Phang Nga and Ranong were entering the 3000-metre zone around Phuket, which is supposed to be reserved for small local craft.

Adding to the problems for local coastal fishermen were bad-water run-offs and some spots around popular tourist islands where there were too many day-trippers, polluting surrounding seas, he said.

No representatives of companies that have large fishing vessels were at today's meeting in Phuket City.

Add your comment using the form below.

Want an avatar for your comments? Register with Gravatar.

It's my understanding that the owner of the resort is indeed the owner of the whole island (it's quite small). Incidentally, the resort does not operate and hasn't for some time. It used to be known as "Honeymoon Island', and it has small villas, with larger buildings for reception and dining etc. The waters just off the western side of the island are fantastic, being very clear and with wonderful coral. Virtually nobody every goes there.

There used to be a couple of Government moorings a couple of hundred metres from the shore, but when I was last there a couple of months ago, they had disappeared.

Posted by Phil on July 18, 2012 16:32

Editor Comment:

That's odd. The last review posted on TripAdvisor on June 4 (and translated from French) says: An island hotel! Take a power boat for rejoidre. Turquoise white sandy beach. Flower lei on arrival. The island has, some twenty bungalows, never slept in a bed as broad, meter could be comfortable 4 people. A true home is. Bad points: Lack of Activities, isolation. In fact it's good for retirees. Me at 25 years remained two days were enough. Good experience anyway.

The reviewer gave it five stars and headed the review ''Paradise.''

Can you send me a link to the TripAdvisor review? The review you mention may have been in June, but what year!!!

Here is a link to the resort:

http://www.honeymoonislandphuket.com/aboutus.html

I believe that the resort closed in early 2009. Looking at it from the sea, it's quite dilapidated and would need a substantial amount of work to get it habitable again. That said, it is a wonderful spot, but completely open to the northeast monsoon weather.

Posted by Phil on July 18, 2012 17:18

Think that you are wrong. Check the year of the TripAdvisor post. I believe that it closed either late 2008 or early 2009. There is an entry for TripAdvisor for Honeymoon Island, Phuket (which is Maithon), but it's never had any entries or comments.

Posted by Phil on July 18, 2012 17:29

Editor Comment:

Why is it that so many readers leave us to do their research, then don't believe what we tell them? Check it yourself, Phil. It says: June 4, 2012, under Maiton Island Resort. (the logical place to look).

Don't be so ignorant. The correct spelling for the island is Maithon, not Maiton. Searching on TripAdvisor for Maithon produces nothing. Again I repeat, we were there in I think either March or April of this year, and it was still closed. You will see that there is another review in May of this year, and then nothing since 2009.

Posted by Phil on July 18, 2012 17:54

Editor Comment:

So TripAdvisor, the resort's reviewers and Phuketwan have it wrong and Phil has it right? Sure. If you look down the bottom, Phil, under the English reviews, you will discover the review - as we noted, it's in French. A little more thought on your part would save wasting your time and mine.

Not only me, it appears that the Hydrographic Department of the Royal Thai Navy, Krung Thep, chart number 308 (Phuket to Kantang) agrees with me. Maithon.

Are you naturally ignorant or is it something you have to practise?

Regardless, it may have re-opened in the last couple of months, but it was closed for at least 2 to 3 years before that (the period in which I've been going there to snorkel from my boat).

Posted by Phil on July 18, 2012 18:09

Editor Comment:

You've had your head underwater for too long, Phil. Next time you surface, read up on ''Transliteration''. There is no right or wrong spelling in English for many a Thai place name, just some that are used by the vast majority and others by a tiny minority. In this case, Maiton wins by some distance. And you know what to do with your ''h''.

On my chart 308 it is writing: Ko Mai Thon
Pevious owners of Koh Mai Thon Resort and the present one as Honeymoon Island Phuket Resort, do not want any customers or tourists on the beach as they market their resort as an exclusive resort for high spenders (Honeymoon travellers) as must compete with resort in Maldives and Malaisia.
During the monsoon period the beach is unsafe and during the November-April period the wind blows directly toward the beach and the sea is full of sand with waves.

Posted by Whistle-Blower on July 18, 2012 18:55

If you look at the tripadvisor profile of the user who posted a review on june 4, he also posted many reviews of various hotels in London and Dublin the same day.

You could then conclude that the date of review has nothing to do with the date of stay in this resort.

You could then follow up by looking at the rest of this user's profile, and see that he posted pictures from a phuket/phi phi trip on 2009.

Bingo, it matches with a first hand visual testimony that is saying the resort has been closed since early 2009!

Posted by John on July 19, 2012 01:11

I sail past this island 2 or 3 times per month and have been doing so since late '09. I can confirm that it has not been in use for this period. It has a floating line exclusion zone around the East side of the island, preventing boats from anchoring in less than 15m of water during the SW monsoon. This is where the decaying resort is located. There is security on this side of the island, who allowed me to roam around the beach, but not enter the resort area. I have never been fired at and normally there are several fishing boats operating around the North end of the island...these tend to be long-tails and squid boats.

Posted by ElCapitan on July 19, 2012 10:09

Editor - why so much animosity toward your readers??

Posted by matt on July 19, 2012 15:11

Editor Comment:

I have no animosity towards any reader. But if some anonymous online person says ''Don't be so ignorant'' and follows up with ''Are you naturally ignorant or is it something you have to practise?'' I tend to adopt the same tone.

Most of your comments, matt, are about the editor, not the issue. I don't intend to debate it further.