Thai fishermen are now experiencing a sharp decline in their catch as 90 percent of the country's coral reefs have been affected by a mass bleaching since 2010 and there are fewer places for fish to live.
The state of coral reefs in the Gulf of Thailand has become so dire that human intervention has become necessary.
Researchers in the country have been working on a reef restoration project in an attempt to not only seed a new generation of coral, but also make them more resilient to warmer oceans.
On the land, it's a race against time. It's a process called the "asexual propagation of soft corals" where techniques were developed to cut small fragments of coral, which were then nursed and grown in the hatchery. After one year, the new and more resilient corals will be the ones they eventually take back to nature.
"The ecosystem is broken. When there is no more coral, there won't be a place for fish to live. People who work in coastal fishing will be worse off. Tourism has also decreased," said Nilnaj Chaitanawisuti, a professor from the Aquatic Resources Research Institute at Chulalongkorn University.
Local fishermen are left in despair as their once plentiful fishing grounds now stand barren and lifeless, not only threatening their economic well-being, but also their deep cultural connection to the sea.
"In the past, I could make more than 250 dollars per night. Now, it's around 90 dollars. Our catch has dwindled. I'm worried that in the future, there will be nothing left to catch. Our children probably won't continue fishing," said Boonlue Wanitchapong, local fisherman.
According to UN reports that all of the Earth's coral reefs will be dead in 30 years if humans do not take drastic actions to reduce emissions and slow climate change.
Thai fishermen experience dwindling catch as fish disappear amid dying coral reefs
Thai fishermen experience dwindling catch as fish disappear amid dying coral reefs
