The arrests followed inspections carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday (Nov 15-16) by officers from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) to ensure restaurants in the area were not selling illegal produce.
Joining the raids were Ministry of Natural Resources Crime Suppression Division and officers from the Thai Muang Marine Fisheries Crime Prevention and Suppression Unit in Phang Nga, which had been investigating the smuggling of illegal catch to seafood providers.
Of note, the inspections in Karon were carried out after 6pm at night.
The three restaurants involved were named as Chic Restaurant, which was found with nine parrotfish; Bounty Seafood, which was found with five parrot fish; and Ton Tan Seafood, which was found with two parrotfish.
The parrotfish found at the restaurants were less than 50cm long. Parrotfish are protected under three separate articles under announcements by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said an offficial report of the arrests
The three managers were all taken to Karon Police Station and charged accordingly, the report said.