'I Miss You … Pla Tu': A Year in Art and Action for Beloved Thai Mackerel

From Songkhla’s docks to Bangkok’s schools—how art united people for ocean health in Thailand

After one powerful year, "I Miss You … Pla Tu" Thai has come full circle. 

The innovative campaign focused on loss of species and habitat, resulting from commodification of the natural world. The Pulitzer Center-supported project Thailand’s Favorite Fish Is Vanishing; Our Appetite Is To Blame inspired the campaign centered on the disappearance of the Thai mackerel. What began as a shared meal has now grown into a nationwide movement—blending journalism, art, and community voices to spotlight the silent tragedy unfolding in our seas.

The journey began on World Ocean Day in June 2024 with a performative dining experience, "The Vanishing Feast." The dinner invited guests to taste the urgency of marine decline while sitting around a sushi conveyor belt designed to provoke thought, reflection, and conversation. This was followed by a monthlong art exhibition that turned reporting into a visual and sensory experience, with the campaign ending in July 2025.

Over the year, the project reached nearly 1 million people online, helped double petition signatures calling to protect Thai waters, and sparked emotional responses from people across the country. Through art, documentary, and fisherfolk-led conversations, Pla Tu became more than a fish; it became a symbol of environmental awareness, cultural memory, and the need to act before it’s too late. 

Where life inspires art and culture

The second phase of the campaign brought five Thai artists to Songkhla province to meet local fishing communities and learn firsthand about the disappearing Thai mackerel, or Pla Tu. 

"When you [artists] visited people’s homes, you saw that those who catch your fish have feelings and lives intertwined with the sea. But when mackerel comes from far away—like Indonesia—that human connection is lost. Without that relationship, there’s no support or understanding. Consumers think, ‘It’s not connected to me. I just want cheap fish,’” said Banjong Nasae, a marine preservation activist during the artist residency in Songkhla in 2024.

These encounters inspired the final chapter, I Will Be Missing You … Pla Tu Thai: A Silent Tragedy of the Sea, a moving exhibition that launched on May 10, 2025.

The exhibition saw over 500 visitors: artists, business leaders, press, designers, government officials, students, and influencers. This marked the end of the third phase of the campaign, uniting communities, students, policymakers, and artists around one of Thailand’s most iconic fish.

Influencers played an important role in bringing the issue to light as well as amplifying the exhibition online. These influencers published their videos on TikTok and Instagram, with nearly 1 million views across these platforms. Viewers also engaged with these videos through comments such as “It breaks my heart—mackerel is our national fish!”, and showcasing willingness in active participation on the issue: “How can we help? Sign me up for the next clean-up.”

Another highlight of this creative journey was our catering program, which carried the storytelling from "The Vanishing Feast" to the closing of the art exhibition. Chef Tawan Catherine Punyasingh crafted dishes that went beyond taste: Each plate represented a slice of life prompting guests to consider the origins, scarcity, and future of the ingredients before them. With locally sourced ingredients, these dishes embodied the urgency of the issue, serving as both nourishment and a cry for help from the sea. 

Mobilizing action among youth

The exhibition didn’t end in the gallery space. It extended to the Bangkok Patana International School, where a pop-up interactive exhibition engaged more than 1,000 primary school children. Students not only learned about the Thai mackerel’s plight, but also became part of the story, creating their own artwork to add to the campaign’s growing visual narrative.

As part of the campaign, Pulitzer Center–supported journalism on the Thai mackerel crisis was transformed into a children’s animation, making complex environmental issues accessible and engaging for primary school students. Through colorful storytelling and relatable characters, the film helped young audiences understand the challenges facing marine life and inspired them to imagine solutions. 

A documentary film, Sea in Front of Home, by independent filmmaker Pisut Srimhok, explores the Thai mackerel crisis through the lives of residents in Chana and Thepha districts, Songkhla Province—capturing shifting livelihoods and the impact of environmental change on local fishing communities. This film was also screened at the exhibition.

Throughout the year, the campaign has taken part in the growing national conversation about the future of Thai fisheries and marine conservation. While many groups and individuals have long been advocating for stronger protections, the campaign catalyzed conversions and helped bring these concerns to light among a wider audience through art, a documentary, and education.

Special thanks to Art4C Art Centre for hosting the exhibition, to curator Pongpan Suriyapat, and to participating artists Awika Samukrsaman, Prasart Nirundornprasert, Satit Raksasri, and Vichukorn Tangpaiboon.

Caption for homepage photo: Pla Tu mackerel in bamboo baskets at a Thailand market. Image by jaboo2foto/Shutterstock. 2017.