Five Thai supermarkets remove parrotfish from shelves

Environmentalists are overjoyed after their campaign proved successful and five major supermarkets agreed to remove parrotfish from their selves.

The " Reef Guardian Thailand" group, whose campaign www.change.org/saveparrotfish received 23,000 signatures from supporters, are now planning to push for the sustainable management of fisheries to become part of national agenda, ecology academic Petch Manopawitr said.

In his capacity as the group's adviser, Petch thanked people for their support, which prompted this fast change. He said that Tesco Lotus, Makro and Tops Supermarket responded to the campaign in July, while the Mall Group and Villa Supermarket also stopped selling parrotfish last week.

"For people who have been working in marine conservation for a long time, this is the first time in years to create an immediate change without help from state-issued measures. This is regarded as society's expression of their will and the first sign of success to raise awareness of city people and malls about impacts of careless consumption. In ecology, all things are linked so the city people's consumption would severely affected the sea," he added.

The group will continue raising awareness among fishermen, tourists and state agencies for conservation of parrot-fish, sharks and other species that are key to ecosystem balance, he said.