Night Fishing Seen From Space—Thailand

This photograph, taken by an astronaut from the ISS on December 10, 2017, shows the city of Bangkok, the capital and largest city in Thailand, illuminated by city lights. The adjacent waters of the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand are illuminated by hundreds of green lights on fishing boats. Fishermen use the lights to attract plankton and fish, the preferred diet of commercially important squid. As the bait swims to the surface, the squid follow to feed and get caught by fishermen. The same fishing practices are used off the Atlantic coast of South America. The border between Thailand and neighboring Cambodia to the east is distinguished by a marked difference in the number of city lights. Cambodia is less urbanized and its population is smaller than that of neighboring countries. The majority of Cambodia’s population lives in rural farming areas where electricity is sparse.

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