Koh Phi Phi: Farmed bamboo sharks now live in front of a popular Thai holiday island

The Thai island of Koh Phi Phi is famous among tourists for its fascinating underwater world. In the future there will also be some bamboo sharks.

Because to support the marine ecosystem, researchers have now started a new project.

Sharks are not only important to nature, they are sometimes even cute. On the Thai dream island of Koh Phi Phi, bamboo sharks have been bred for several months and released as young animals into the wild.

The project “Save Our Sharks” (“SOS”) aims to support the fragile marine ecosystem around the “Hat Nopparat Thara – Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park” in Krabi province, which is popular with tourists from all over the world. Just a few days ago, marine biologists released four baby predatory fish on a coral reef off the island of Koh Mah.

“Most shark species play an important role in population control,” said marine biologist Kullawit Limchularat, who released the animals on a dive with colleagues, the German Press Agency. “They hunt the weakest prey. Stronger animals can survive and reproduce, ultimately making the ecosystem stronger and more diverse.”

As juveniles, the only thing the small, brown-striped fish have in common with a shark like in a picture book is their streamlined shape. They seem downright cute – and also a bit shy. After opening the transport box, the divers have to knock against the walls several times to get the mini sharks to swim out.

Brown-banded bamboo sharks harmless to humans

Brown-banded bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium punctatum) are classified as “Near Threatened” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The population of predatory fish, which are harmless to humans, is also declining in Thailand due to overfishing and the destruction of their natural habitat – the coral reefs. The “SOS” project was launched last November by the Thai Environment Ministry’s Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) in cooperation with the Marine Discovery Center of the Saii Phi Phi Island Village resort.

So far, more than 20 bamboo sharks have been released, Limchularat said. 30 to 40 are to follow in the coming year. “But that depends both on how many new sharks are born in our country and on our data on the state of the shark population,” says the expert. “Of course, we have to avoid overpopulation at all costs.”

The bamboo sharks are bred in aquariums on Koh Phi Phi

Brown-banded bamboo sharks are an egg-laying shark species. When they hatch, the babies are around ten centimeters long. They grow in the Marine Discovery Center near the dreamy Loh Ba Kao Bay in the northeast of Koh Phi Phi, first in aquariums and later in small tanks. Only when they are big enough to survive in the Andaman Sea are they released into the wild. Adult males can grow up to 60 centimeters long.