Phuketwan Photo Album Above
UPDATE: Researchers easily gathered ''more than 100'' small box jellyfish from Phuket's east coast Nam Bor Bay yesterday, largest haul so far of the potentially dangerous marine stingers.
A PUBLIC seminar on box jellyfish is set for Phuket on Saturday, April 4, where some of the conclusions of a highly-qualified team flying in from Australia should be revealed.
The free two-hour seminar will begin at 10am at Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort, not far from Patong.
Leading speaker will be Dr Lisa-ann Gershwin, the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery Curator of Natural Science, who is noted for her extensive research on box jellyfish in Australia.
She hopes to ascertain on her trip to Phuket which areas are prone to marine stingers, and whether dangerous jellyfish are likely to spread to Phuket's popular western beaches.
Topics covered at the seminar will include awareness and education, prevention, and first aid treatment.
Coming from Australia with Dr Gershwin are Kim Moss, from UniNet Qld (manufacturers of stinger nets), and Andrew Jones, father of a young boy who survived a ''boxie'' sting in the Gulf of Thailand, and now an advocate for stinger awareness.
Interested individuals should contact Jayne MacDougall, Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort Director of Risk Management and Loss Prevention, or Sports and Recreations Manager, Prathaiyuth Chuayuan, at 076 370 100.
Reservations are on a first-come first-served basis, with limited seating available.
The sudden rise in the number of jellyfish infesting Andaman waters and beaches has made an understanding of precautionary safety and treatment needs of tourists and residents a priority for resorts and local authorities.
Preceding the public seminar will be a three-day workshop at the Phuket Marine Biology Centre from April 1, with delegates coming from all over Thailand and Malaysia.
Both seminars have been organised by Dr Somchai Bussarawit, Chief of the Museum and Aquarium at the Phuket Marine Biology Centre, to fast-track local research and knowledge on stinging marine creatures.
Coastal health officials, epidemiologists and marine biologists will be attending the biology centre conference, largest of its kind so far.
The Photo Album above shows Dr Somchai and researchers at beautiful east coast Nam Bor Bay recently, with Public Health department officials.
Box jellyfish of varying sizes show up in samplings virtually every day at this Phuket bay.
The trip to Phuket by the delegation from Australia has been made possible by Jetstar and Le Meridien Phuket Resort.
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