On moving to the Andaman Sea coast in 1985, Thai environmentalist Pisit Charnsnoh founded the Yadfon Association to assist impoverished local fishing communities through environmental programmes.
Through one of Yadfon’s first projects, the restoration of a mangrove forest, he noticed the decline of a marine mammal, the dugong. He decided to use the dugong to spearhead a programme to improve the lives of fishing communities.