Pham Van Tan catches snails in Con Dao National Park on September 28, 2023, in a photo taken by park rangers.
A man from Ba Ria – Vung Tau province, southern Vietnam, was fined VND137.5 million ($5,600) for catching sweet snails in Con Dao National Park.
Pham Van Tan, 35, a resident of Con Dao Island district off the coast of Ba Ria – Vung Tau, was fined for administrative violations in the fishing sector.
On the night of September 28, Tan rowed a motorized raft he had built on Giong Beach of Bay Canh islet to catch sweet snails.
After picking up five kilos of snail, he was arrested by park rangers.
Although the snail he caught is neither rare nor endangered, the area he was fishing in belongs to the ecological restoration zone of the Con Dao National Park Marine Protected Area, which means that any Fishing activity is prohibited.
In 2018, Tan was sentenced to more than 10 months in prison by the Con Dao District People’s Court after he was caught transporting 17 sea turtle eggs.
Con Dao National Park is one of nine Ramsar sites in Vietnam.
A Ramsar site refers to a site designated as being of international importance under the ‘Convention on Wetlands’, an intergovernmental treaty which provides a framework for the conservation and optimal use of wetlands and their resources.
The park covers a total area of 19,998 hectares (including 16 islands and islets), comprising forest and forest land of 5,998 hectares, a protected marine biodiversity area of 14,000 hectares.
It is home to 144 species of animals, including 28 species of mammals, 69 species of birds, 39 species of reptiles and more than 1,320 marine species.