Baby bamboo sharks return to Thailand's tourist haven of Ko Phi Phi

KO PHI PHI, (dpa): The Thai island of Ko Phi Phi is famous among tourists for its fascinating underwater world. It's a place where divers can now see a growing number of bamboo sharks - cute, shy and harmless to humans - following efforts to support the marine ecosystem.

On the Thai dream island of Ko Phi Phi, bamboo sharks have been released into the wild after being bred for several months.

The "Save Our Sharks" project aims to support the fragile marine ecosystem around the "Hat Noppharat Thara - Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park" in Krabi province, which is popular with tourists from all over the world.

In March, marine biologists released four baby predatory fish (vital for the ecosystem, albeit harmless to humans) aged 9-10 months on a coral reef off of Ko Mah island.

"Most shark species play an important role in population control," marine biologist Kullawit Limchularat, who released the animals into the wild with colleagues during a dive, told dpa.

"They hunt the weakest prey. Stronger animals survive and can reproduce, which ultimately makes the ecosystem stronger and more diverse."

For tourists, however, there's nothing to be feared from these sharks. When they are young, the only thing that these small, brown-striped fish have in common with what most people think of when they hear "shark" 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.

Brownbanded bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium punctatum) are classified as "potentially endangered" on the Red List of the World Conservation Union (IUCN).

The population of the predatory fish is also declining in Thailand due to overfishing and the destruction of their natural habitat - the coral reefs.

The "Save Our Sharks" project was launched last November by the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) of the Thai Ministry of Environment in cooperation with the Marine Discovery Centre of the Saii Phi Phi Island Village resort.

So far, more than 20 bamboo sharks have been released, Limchularat says, with 30 to 40 expected to follow next 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," he says. "Of course, we have to avoid overpopulation at all costs."

Brown-banded bamboo sharks are among the egg-laying shark species. When they hatch, the babies are around 10 centimetres long.

They grow up at the Marine Discovery Centre near the dreamy Loh Ba Kao Bay, first in aquariums and later in small tanks - until they are big enough to survive in the Andaman Sea. Males can grow up to 60 centimetres long as adults. - dpa