Fishing in Cha-Am - A Working Coast, Not a Tourist Show

Fishing in Cha-Am is a working part of the town, not an attraction laid on for visitors. The Cha-Am fishing pier at the northern end of Ruamjit Road is used daily by a small fleet of longtail boats and near-shore trawlers, and the community that runs it has been on this stretch of coast for generations. The best way to see it is quietly, early, and on foot.

The pier and the morning catch

The pier (สะพานปลาชะอำ) sits at the mouth of the small canal that separates central Cha-Am from the northern beach. Boats begin coming back in from around 05:30, and by 06:30 the concrete apron behind the pier is a low, unhurried market: mackerel (pla thu, ปลาทู), squid, blue-swimmer crab, prawns, small pomfret, sea bass, and whatever the night has produced. Prices are set between the boat owners and the same buyers who have come every morning for years. Visitors are welcome to watch, and welcome to buy, but this is not a set-piece market. Move to the side, do not stand in the working lanes, and ask before photographing anyone.

Squid boats at night

Look out to sea after dark from October to March and you will see a broken line of bright green lights on the horizon. Those are squid boats. The lamps (called fai lo, ไฟล่อ) attract plankton, the plankton attracts small fish, and the squid follow. The lights are visible from anywhere along the beach, and they are one of the quiet, beautiful details of the Cha-Am coast that easy to miss if nobody points them out. The green colour is chosen because squid see it best.

Shore and pier fishing for residents

Recreational fishing from the pier itself is casual and low-key. Local anglers use simple hand-lines and small rods; the catch is modest, mostly small snapper and mackerel. Nobody charges to fish there, but if you use the pier out of courtesy buy something from the vendors afterwards. Longer trips - half-day boats out into the Gulf for barracuda, cobia and king mackerel - can be arranged through the pier or through hotels; the cool season, November to March, has the calmest seas.

Buying seafood at the pier

The prices at the pier are the base prices of the town: often less than half of the same fish on the same day at Big C or Makro, and a fraction of hotel restaurant prices. Cash only, small notes preferred. A useful phrase is "chang naam nak thao rai krap/kha?" (how much per kilo?). Take a foam cooler if you are buying more than one meal's worth; a five-minute walk in the sun undoes the freshness quickly.

The seafood restaurants along Ruamjit Road

The row of open-fronted restaurants along Ruamjit Road, between the pier and the central beach, is where most residents and Bangkok visitors eat. The kitchens work directly with the boats. Order the day's fish grilled with garlic (pla phao kratiam), tom yum with prawns, fried squid with salt and pepper, and southern-style yellow crab curry (gaeng khua puu). Two people can eat well for under 1,000 baht. Service is quick, no service charge is added, and cash is still easier than card.

Respect the community

The fishing families of Cha-Am are Thai-Muslim as well as Thai-Buddhist. The mosque at the northern end of the pier road serves the community; the small spirit shrines along the sea wall are Buddhist. Both are living, not decorative. Do not step on nets drying on the concrete, do not climb on moored boats, and if you are on the beach when a boat is being pulled in, either help or step well back. That courtesy is the whole of it.

See also About Cha-Am and Holiday in Cha-Am.