The minister of natural resources and environment lashed out at a diving instructor who killed a titan triggerfish and wrote it deserved to die after it had bitten him.
Minister Warawut Silpa-archa said on Sunday the diving instructor should be aware that he should set a good example for his students and that divers were entering the habitats of animals and thus should respect the hosts.
"I am very upset about this matter. He was lucky for being outside a national park. Otherwise, I would take the harshest action, meaning imprisonment," the minister said.
Mr Warawut said that although titan triggerfish were not a protected species, they helped protect coral because they ate the animals that fed on coral.
"Conservation is your duty. Without sea fish, what will divers look at?... As a diving instructor, it makes no sense to kill it after it hurt you. Is an apology too easy for such a matter?... If everyone shares your mindset, it will be bad," he said.
Mr Warawut was responding to a Facebook post by a diving instructor who wrote that he killed the titan triggerfish after it bit his leg while he was diving down to coral off Pathiu district in Chumphon.
The post was emotional and read that the fish deserved to die because it bit him and had done so to many diving customers.
After being heavily criticised, the diving instructor wrote an apology.
Assist Prof Thon Thamrongnawasawat of the marine science department at Kasetsart University wrote that water animals were naturally protective of their habitats and nests, and marine tourists were visitors to the animals' homes and should respect the rules of the hosts.
