Fishermen out on their boats stopped trawling for more fish and headed back into port near Chao Samran Beach. Mayor Boonyod Maklai told the boat owners they should take advantage of the situation and take tourists out to sea for a closer look at the whales.
Afterwards, mayor Maklai said that Bryde’s whales were occasionally spotted foraging for food along the coast of Phetchaburi’s Ban Laem District between September and March. He continued by saying that it was unusual to see such a large school and tourists should hurry and visit before the whales departed for other areas of the gulf.
In 2012, scientists claimed there were only 20 Bryde’s whales left in the Gulf of Thailand. The species generally grows to around 14 metres and weighs in at 17 tonnes.
Rare Bryde’s whales sighted in Gulf of Thailand
News in Asia
The sight of a pod of Bryde’s whales in the Gulf of Thailand earlier this week was an unexpected boon for local fisher-folk and tourists. A pod consisting of more than 10 of the rare whales was sighted off the coast of Phetchaburi on Monday afternoon.